Contents: Introduction (2 min.) -- A Natural born gambler (1916, si. with English intertitles, 18 min.) -- Fish (si.,1916, 9 min.) -- Nobody (audio recording, 1906, 3 min.) Egbert Austin "Bert" Williams was one of the preeminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. A key figure in the development of African-American entertainment, he was by far the best-selling black recording artist before 1920. He became the first black American to take a lead role on the Broadway stage, and did much to push back racial barriers during his career. DVD X5041

Directed by Edwin S. Porter. "Scene, interior of railroad coach. Pretty young lady and negress maid occupy seat. Young man in rear seat tries to attract young lady's attention. She drops her handkerchief. Young man picks it up and hands it to her, and then begins to make love to her. As the train enters a tunnel he is last seen trying to put his arms around her. Upon emerging he is hugging and kissing the colored maid, the young lady having changed seats with her while in the tunnel, much to the young man's disgust." [AFI Catalog]
DVD 3552

Directed by D.W. Griffith. Cast: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Mary Alden, Ralph Lewis, George Seigmann, Walter Long. Adapted from Thomas Dixon's novel, The Clansman. A Civil War spectacular, Portraying "life in the South" during and after the Civil War as revealed in a story depicting the war itself, the conflict between the defeated Southerners and emancipated renegade Negroes, the despoiling of the South during the carpetbagger period, and the revival of the Southern white man's honor through the efforts of the Ku Klux Klan. 124 min. DVD 3012; DVD 29

Directed by John W. Noble. Cast: Louis Dean, Harry Dumont, Carter B. Harkness, Doris Doscher, Charles Graham, Ben Hendricks, Alice Gale, John Reinhardt, Gertrude Braun. After a biblical and historical prologue detailing the evolution of the idea of democracy through the creation, flood, the crucifixion of Christ, the discovery of America, the signing of the Declaration of Independenc and the Civil War, the present-day threat to this idea by autocratic powers is dramatized. 10 min. DVD 3012; DVD 2912

Cripps, Thomas. "The Making of Birth of a Race: The Emerging Politics of Identity in Silent Film." In: The birth of whiteness : race and the emergence of U.S. cinema / edited by Daniel Bernardi.
New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c1996. ( Main (Gardner) Stacks; PFA PN1995.9.M56 B57 1996)

Director: Bert Williams. "Our story centers upon the activities of a Negro fraternal organization, the Independent Order of Calcimine Artists of America. [Inside joke: "calcimine" is whitewash, and yet most of these black actors appear to have darkened their complexions with blackface makeup.] The group meets in the back of a saloon. Their leader, Brother Scott, is a lawyer who disapproves of gambling-- although, after breaking up a poker game, he doesn't object to appropriating others' winnings. Our protagonist is lodge member Bert Williams, described as a "walking delegate," who is clearly in arrears with both the saloon's barkeep, Hostetter Johnson, and with the lodge itself. Early on, he is compelled to remit the dues he owes (three dollars), which he does reluctantly. [Some prints of the film omit the next sequence: After leaving a meeting with his friend Limpy Jones, who is handicapped with gout and must ride on Bert's shoulders..." [IMDB] 22 min DVD 1312

Directed by Harry A. Pollard. Harriet Beecher Stowe's influential 19th century story of the pre-Civil war South. Peace-loving slave Tom is forced to submit to his sadistic master, the evil Simon Legree. Helpless slaves -- raped, tortured and humiliated -- are eventually driven to rebel against their wicked oppressors. 112 min. DVD 237; also vhs 999:2334

Directed by King. Vidor. Cast: Daniels L. Haynes, Nina Mae McKinney, William Fountaine, Harry Gray, Fanny Belle DeKnight, Everett McGarrity, Victoria Spivey, Dixie Jubilee Singers. An all-Black cast film which depicts the life of a rural southern Black family written according to racist stereotypes prevalent in 1929. Themes show illiterate Black plantation life, singing, dancing and gambling, religious beliefs and practices, including a special baptism sequence, and the relationships between men and women in a "sinful environment". "Made when screen musicals were mainly backstage stories or all-star revues, "Hallelujah!" broke the mold. Director King Vidor, given the go-ahead only after pledging his salary to offset production costs, combines melodrama with work songs and spirituals...a sincere and sympathetic treatment of rural black life." 90 min. DVD 4965; vhs 999:1432

A rare collection of early Our Gang and Little Rascals television episodes poking fun at colored folks. Videodisc release of eight episodes of the Our Gang comedies, originally produced between 1938 and 1944, and shown on television as the Little Rascals. 131 min. DVD 2442

Borderline (UK, 1930)

Directed by Kenneth MacPherson. Cast: Paul Robeson, Eslanda Robeson, Helga Doorn, Gavin Arthur, Charlotte Arthur, Blanche Lewin. This experimental silent film, made in Switzerland by an independent British film company, is chiefly remembered as Paul Robeson's first film. Boldly blending Eisensteinian montage and domestic melodrama, the film features Robeson and his wife, Eslanda, as lovers caught up in a tangled web of interracial affairs. 63 min. DVD 7281

Directed by Melville W. Brown. Cast: Freeman Gosden, Charles J. Correll, Sue Carol, Irene Rich. Cab drivers Amos 'n' Andy (characters from the radio show Amos 'n' Andy) contract to transport Duke Ellington and his band out to Blair estate, where they meet Richard Williams who is in love with Jean Blair. Richard must find the deed to his family property before he can marry Jean. Meanwhile, Amos 'n' Andy, after spending the night in a haunted house, find the deed. Notable as the only motion picture produced staring the radio comedy team, Amos n' Andy. 85 min. DVD X4918; vhs 999:793

Directed by Mort Blumenstock. Cast: Tom Howard, Joe Lyons, Edward Gargan. "In the early twentieth century, many American carnivals and fun fairs featured an "African Dodger". This was a Negro (usually genuine, sometimes a white man in blackface) who would stick his head through a hole and taunt the suckers, who paid a nickel for the privilege of throwing baseballs at the African Dodger. The dodger would (usually) pull his head out of the hole in time to avoid getting hit, but sometimes he wasn't fast enough. African Dodgers were so commonplace that some sadistic people would bring a hard (wooden or iron) ball into any carnival that came to town, knowing they'd have a chance to throw it at a black man's head and cause him serious injury." In this film comedian Tom Howard plays a man on a carnival midway who gets suckered into substituting for the African Dodger.
91 min. DVD X2036; vhs 999:2637

Directed by John M. Stahl. Cast: Claudette Colbert (Beatrice "Bea" Pullman), Warren William (Stephen Archer), Ned Sparks (Elmer Smith, Louise Beavers (Aunt Delilah). The story of two widows and their troubled daughters. In the search for success as an actress, Lora neglects her daughter. Lora's black housekeeper's daughter repudiates her mother by trying to pass for white. As the years pass, each of the four women realizes that she has been living out an emotionally fruitless existence. 106 min. DVD 5246

Directed by David Butler. Cast: Shirley Temple, Lionel Barrymore, Bill Robinson, John Lodge, Evelyn Venable, Hattie McDaniel. An old-fashioned Southern colonel has disowned his daughter for marrying a Yankee and resists all entreaties for a reconciliation until he succumbs to the charms of his little granddaughter. Includes the famous "stairs" dance by Temple and "Bojangles" Robinson. 75 min. DVD 6039

Directed by Archie L. Mayo. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Dick Foran, Erin O'Brien-Moore, Ann Sheridan. In this first leading role in a major movie for Humphrey Bogart, he plays a factory worker, disappointed at not being promoted, who joins a Ku Klux Klan-like group. Threats surrounded the making of the movie, but the studio persisted, creating a bold, torn-from-the-headlines expose of the organization fueled by fear, ignorance and hate -- a nation of "free, white, 100% Americans." 83 min. DVD X127

Directed by Thornton Freeland. Cast: Paul Robeson, Henry Wilcoxon, Wallace Ford.
Paul Robeson is in fine voice in this musical drama about a GI who, after he accidentally kills a man, escapes into the desert where he joins an African tribe to avoid punishment. 75 min. DVD 7282; also supplement on DVD X6585

Directed by David Butler. Cast: Shirley Temple, John Boles, Bill Robinson, Steppin Fetchit. Civil War saga set in the Old South. A case study in 30's and 40's Hollywoods fondness for mammies, Toms, and happy, childlike colored folk. Features an astonishing sequence in which Shirley dons blackface to escape from Union soldiers. DVD 6038

Directed by Richard C. Kahn; written by Spencer Williams. Cast: Zack Williams, Laura Bowman, Alfred Grant, Spencer Williams, Daisy Buford. A huge, horrifying ape creature is hidden in the laboratory of a sinster old house. The monster is the creation of Dr. Helen Jackson, a scientist who dabbles in the world of black magic and mysticism. Jackson experiments with a strange potion that transforms the beast-man into a maniacal, uncontrolled killer. Two newlyweds, who are guests in the doctor's home, are soon trapped by the hideous creature. An independently produced horror film featuring an all-black cast. 61 min. DVD X787; also DVD X1639

Directed by Directed by Tay Garnett. Cast: Robert Taylor, George Murphy, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Nolan. WWII movie featuring what Donald Bogle has called the movies' representation of "New Negro" in the military (an increasingly sympathetic image in the war and post-war years). Bataan features Kenneth Spencer as a black demolitions expert who figures prominantly and heroically in the action of the movie. 115 min. DVD 3498; vhs 999:1258

Directed by Vincente Minnelli. Cast: Ethel Waters, Eddie Anderson, Lena Horne. Petunia Jackson, a poor but devout woman, is burdened with a shiftless husband called Little Joe. When Little Joe is seriously wounded in a fight and seems about to die, the forces of heaven and hell begin a battle for his soul. 99 min. DVD 5684; vhs 999:357

Dyer, Richard. "Singing prettily : Lena Horne in Hollywood." In: In the space of a song : the uses of song in film / Richard Dyer.
Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, 2012.
(Main (Gardner) Stacks New books PN1995.9.M86 D94 2012)

Directed by Arthur Lubin. Cast: Arturo de Cordova, Dorothy Patrick, Louis Armstrong and his band, Billie Holiday, Woody Herman and his orchestra, Original New Orleans Ragtime Band (Louis Armstrong, Zutty Singleton, Barney Bigard, Kid Ory, Bud Scott, Red Callendar, Charlie Beal and Meade Lux Lewis). Nick, the proprietor of a Bourbon Street gambling joint, an artistic haven for African-American musicans who gather and jam from dusk til dawn, falls in love with an opera-singing socialite. After losing his nightclub Nick tries over the course of many years to get jazz the respect and audience it deserves. 110 min. DVD 1094

Directed by Mark Robson. Cast: Lloyd Bridges, James Edwards, Frank Lovejoy, Douglas Dick, Steve Brodie, Jeff Corey. "A paralyzed African-American war veteran Private Peter Moss (Edwards) begins to walk again only when he confronts his fear of forever being an "outsider." The film utilizes the recurrent theme of a diverse group of men being subjected to the horror of war and their individual reactions, in this case, the hell of jungle combat against the Japanese in WW II. The soldier's comrades include his lifelong white friend Finch (Bridges), whose death leaves him racked with guilt; redneck-bigot corporal (Brodie); and troubled Sergeant Mingo (Lovejoy). In the film's crucial scene, the doctor (Corey) forces Moss to overcome his paralysis by yelling a racial slur; from this point on, Moss will never again kowtow to prejudice." [Wikipedia] Based upon an original play by Arthur Laurents. 86 min. DVD X5695; vhs 999:3670

Norden, Martin F. "The Racism-Ableism Link in Home of The Brave and Bright Victory" Film & History May1990, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p26-36, 11p UC users only

Rogin, Michael. "Home of the brave." In: The war film / edited and with an introduction by Robert Eberwein. New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c2005. (Main Stack PN1995.9.W3.W36 2005; PFA PN1995.9.W3.W36 2005)

Rosenbaum, Julia B. "'A Great Step Forward!: The Film Home of the Brave."
In: Visions of belonging : New England art and the making of American identity / Julia B. Rosenbaum.
Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2006. (Full text available online [UCB users only]; Print: Main (Gardner) Stacks; PFA E169 .S655 2004)

Directed by John Huston. Cast: Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, George Brent, Dennis Morgan, Charles Coburn, Frank Craven, Billie Burke, Hattie McDaniel, Lee Patrick.
Stanley Timberlake is a young woman who decides to dump her fiancé and runs off with her sister Roy's husband. They marry, settle in Baltimore, and Stanley ultimately drives Peter to drink and suicide. Stanley returns home to Richmond only to learn that her sister Roy and old flame Craig have fallen in love and plan to marry. The jealous and selfish Stanley attempts to win back Craig's affections, but her true character is revealed when, rather than take the rap herself, she attempts to pin a hit and run accident on a young black clerk who works in Craig's law office. Based upon the novel by Ellen Glasgow. Special features: Commentary by film historian Jeanine Basinger; "Warner night at the movies 1942" short subjects gallery; vintage newsreel; "March on, America!" patriotic short; "Spanish fiests" musical short; "Who's who in the zoo" classic cartoon; trailers. 97 min. DVD X345

Directed by Clarence Brown. Cast: David Brian, Claude Jarman, Jr., Juano Hernandez, Porter Hall, Elizabeth Patterson, Charles Kemper, Will Geer. This film is considered one of the most outstanding films about racial tension. It tells the story of a black man in a small Mississippi town who is accused of murdering a white man known to be his adversary. He makes no attempt to defend himself to avoid being lyunched, until a young white boy persuades his lawyer uncle to help find the real killer. Based on the novel by William Faulkner. 87 min. DVD X6439; vhs 999:2278

Director, Alfred L. Werker. Cast: Beatrice Pearson, Mel Ferrer, Susan Douglas, Canada Lee, Richard Hylton. Based on true events surrounding a light-skinned black family who pass for white in a New Hampshire town. Dr. Scott Carter is unable to secure a job as a physician because of his race so he decides "For one year of his life" to pass as a white man, but the one year becomes twenty. Eventually he and his family must confront the racism of the idyllic New Hampshire town he's served for decades. Based on the book by William Lindsay White. 99 min. DVD X1843; vhs 999:1769

Weisenfeld, Judith. ""Why Didn't They Tell Me I'm a Negro?": Lost Boundaries and the Moral Landscape
of Race." In: Hollywood be thy name : African American religion in American film, 1929-1949
Berkeley : University of California Press, c2007. (MAIN: PN1995.9.N4 W45 2007)

Pinky (1949)

Directed by Elia Kazan. Cast: Jeanne Crain, Ethel Barrymore, Ethel Waters, William Lundigan. Pinky, a black woman who works as a nurse in Boston, finds that she is able to pass for white. Afraid her true heritage will be discovered, she leaves her white fiancee and returns home to Mississippi where she helps her grandmother care for her employer, an imperious plantation owner. When she names Pinky heiress to her estate, the community rises in resentment triggering a-sensational court trial. Subject of a landmark Supreme Court case in film censorship, this moving story became itself a battle for human rights. Originally produced as a motion picture in 1949. Based on the novel 'Quality' by Cid Ricketts Sumner. 102 min. DVD 5064

Vol. 4: Antique shop: Kingfish becomes an agent to get the commission from the sale of an antique shop. Kingfish teaches Andy to fly: Kingfish talks Andy into flying lessons so he can impress the ladies. 999:729:4

Directed by Alfred E. Green. Cast: Jackie Robinson, Ruby Dee, Minor Watson, Louise Beavers, Richard Lane, Harry Shannon, Ben Lessy, Bill Spaulding, Billy Wayne, Joel Fleullen.
Dramatizes the story of Jackie Robinson (playing himself) as the first African-American to play major league baseball, including his days at UCLA on a sports scholarship and his career in the Negro League. 76 min. DVD X6179

Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Cast: Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell, Stephen McNally, Sidney Poitier. When a young African-American doctor operates on two white brothers brought in for gunshot wounds, it sets off a chain of violent confrontations between a vicious psychopath, his gang and the black community. 106 min. DVD 7667; vhs 999:2450

Director, Stuart Heisler. Cast: Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan, Doris Day, Steve Cochran.
A school teacher visiting relatives in an unnamed small town happens to witness the beating death of a man at the hands of the KKK. She soon discovers that the whole town is controlled by this vigilante group, and that her loutish brother-in-law is one of the group's members. The D.A. (Ronald Reagan) is the man who breaks the stranglehold of the hooded terrorists--through the simple expedient of walking into one of their meetings and calmly identifying each of them by name. 93 min. DVD X201

Director, Pierre Chenal. Cast: Richard Wright, Jean Wallace, Gloria Madison, Nicholas Joy, Willa Pearl Curtiss, Charles Cane.
Adaptation of the classic novel by Richard Wright. Set in Chicago, Native son tells the story of Bigger Thomas, a young black man who accidentally murders his employer's daughter while performing his duties as chauffeur. The combined forces of institutional racism and condescending white liberalism pursue Thomas to an unhappy end. The author plays the leading role in this film version. 90 min. vhs 999:3808

Directed by George Sidney. Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel. A romantic musical of Magnolia Hawks who grew up on the riverboat, Cotton Blossom. When a snitch on board calls the police the leading lady, Julie (who's half African-American) and her white husband are forced to leave the show. Magnolia becomes the leading show boat attraction and a gambler, Gaylor Ravenal, the leading man. They fall in love and marry but soon Magnolia must face reality as she is left alone penniless and pregnant. Based on the Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II musical play from Edna Ferber's novel. 115 min. DVD 472

Directed by Fred Zinnemann. Cast: Ethel Waters, Julie Harris, Brandon De Wilde, Arthur Franz, Nancy Gates. A 12-year-old girl learns something about life when her sister gets married a Based on a story by Carson McCullers. Ethel Waters plays a kind of "nouveau mammy" to Julie Harris' anguished white girl on the verge of adulthood. The first instance of a black actress being used to carry a major-studio production. 91 min. DVD X6438; vhs 999:380

Directed by Raoul Walsh. Cast: Clark Gable, Yvonne DeCarlo, Sidney Poitier, Efram Zimbalist, Jr., Rex Reason, Carolle Drake, Juanita Moore. The story of privileged society of the Old South centering around Amish Bond, a plantation owner with a secret past of slave trading, a freedom-yearning slave Bond has raised as a son, and the fiery belle, well educated and born into a good family who goes on the auction block when her part-African heritage is revealed. Based on the novel by Robert Penn Warren. 128 min. DVD X1615; vhs 999:2231

Directed by Douglas Sirk. Cast: Lana Turner (Lora Meredith), John Gavin (Steve Archer). Draws the audience into an underworld of backstairs and neon gutters with the story of an exploited black maid (played by a white actress) and her daughter trying to pass for white. Based on the novel by Fannie Hurst. 124 min. DVD 5246; DVD 1737

Directed by Robert Wise. Cast: Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters, Ed Begley, Gloria Grahame. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars, ready for the taking. It's too much to resist for Earl Slater, a bigoted ex-con slumming through life with a patronizing girlfriend and zero expectations. He agrees to be part of a bank job planned by former cop Burke. Until, that is, he finds out one of his partners will be a black man. Earl's desperate need for cash, however, leads him to reconsider. For this job only, he'll put his racism aside ... until moments away from the score, hatred erupts. In this film to obtain the edgy look desired by the director a rare filming technique was used: infrared photography. DVD 2229

Directed by John Cassavetes. John Cassavetes' first film, tells a gripping story of racism set against a New York background in the 1950's. Lelia, a light-skinned black woman living in New York with her two brothers, has an affair with a white man. The relationship soon sours when he meets one of her brothers and discovers she is really black. 87 min. DVD 421

Directed by Fred M. Wilcox. Cast: Sonya Wilde, James Franciscus, Pat Michon, Isabel Cooley.
A beautiful young woman meets and marries the man of her dreams--only she has not told him that she is half-black, and he and his rich family and friends are white. She soon discovers that happiness cannot be founded on a lie. Based on the novel by Mary Hastings Bradley. 92 min. DVD X2456

Directed by Luis Bunuel. Set in the American South on a remote coastal island, a black man fleeing a lynch mob meets a racist sheriff and a recently orphaned 13 year old white girl. Upon release in 1960, this film shocked American audiences with its depiction of a strong, sarchastic black man, capable of holding his own against racism. Inspired by Peter Matthiessen's story "Travelin' Man." Performers: Zachary Scott, Bernie Hamilton, Kay Meersman, Graham Denton, Claudio Brook. 95 min. 999:1369

Directed by Richard L. Bare. Cast: Rita Moreno, Mark Damon, Gerald Mohr, Jay Novello, Eugenio Martin. Black, Anglo and Hispanic high-school gangs duke it out in this story about two undercover cops who infiltrate the gangs to stop narcotics trafficking. The undercover cop Frank is of mixed black American and Mexican parentage, which means no gang is going to easily accept him while his partner Don is an Anglo cop. When Lola's boyfriend is killed in a gang fight she starts to fall for Frank. DVD includs Black rebels: Five years after "This Rebel Breed" was released, producer William Rowland added some incongruous inserts filled with nudity and re-released the film under the titles Black Rebels, Lola's Mistake, and Three Shades of Love. 90 min. (This Rebel Breed); 94 min. (Black Rebels) DVD X3088; vhs 999:3051

Directed by Daniel Petrie. Performers: Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee. 1961 film based on the award-winning play about a struggling black family living on Chicago's South Side and the impact of an unexpected insurance bequest. Each family member sees the bequest as the means of realizing dreams and of escape from grinding frustrations. Based on the play: A raisin in the sun by Lorraine Hansberry. 128 min. DVD 9203; vhs Video 999:955

Directed by Hubert Cornfield. Cast: Sidney Poitier, Bobby Darin, Peter Falk, Carl Benton Reid. An African American psychiatrist is charged with treating a hate filled young man who's been jailed for sedition. As he probes the patient's nightmares, the psychiatrist realizes his twisted vision masks a lust for violence. But the inmate has become a model prisoner, and unless the doctor can convince officials that he's daugerous, he'll soon be back on the street. 89 min. DVD 4827

Directed by Ralph Nelson. Cast: Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala, Stanley Adams. A free-spirited ex-G.I. stumbles upon five German refugee nuns in Arizona and stops to fix their farmhouse roof. Homer discovers that not only will the Mother Superior not pay him for the job, but she also expects him to build their chapel -- for free! Sidney Poitier won the Academy Award for Best Actor for this film, the first such award given to an African American actor. 95 min. DVD 4564

Directed by Nicholas Webster. Cast: Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Sorrell Booke, Godfrey Cambridge, Alan Alda, Hilda Haynes. In this film version of a successful stage play, a black preacher returns home to rural Georgia to claim an inheritance and bring down the ruthless plantation owner that he once served. He finds a surprise ally in the plantation owner's son. Religious hypocrisy, racial bigotry, civil rights issues and the changing Southern society backed by forced integraton are subjects in this film (1963) that coincided with the turbulent social issues of the time. 99 min. DVD 5095

Directed by Carl Lerner. Cast: James Whitmore, Will Geer, Roscoe Lee Browne. A dramatization of the true story of a white writer in the early 1960's who chemically changed the color of his skin in order to experience life as a black man in the South. Based on the book by John Howard Griffin (Moffitt E185.61.G8; Main Stack E185.61.G75). 107 min. vhs 999:2729

Directed by Michael Roemer. Cast: Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln, Julius Harris, Gloria Foster. Set against the stirrings of the civil rights movement and a rising wave of burgeoning Black pride. This tells the story of Duff, a railroad section hand who is forced to confront racial prejudice and self-denial when he falls in love with Josie, an educated preacher's daughter. An uplifting story about a man and a woman whose love overcomes racial and class barriers. Special DVD features: Cast and crew 40 years later; short film: "Portrait of Abbey"; extensive liner notes with original stills from the film; cast and crew biographies. 92 min. DVD X1484; vhs 999:1080

The first television series to feature a white and a black protagonist working as colleagues and equals. Starring Robert Culp and Bill Cosby. For holdings SEE TV videography

A Patch of Blue (1965)

Directed by Guy Green. Cast: Sidney Poitier, Shelley Winters, Elizabeth Hartman, Wallace Ford. Accidentally blinded as a child, 18-year-old Selina D'Arcey falls in love with a gentle and charming man, Gordon Ralfe, whom she meets in a rare visit to a park. Her racist mother declares that because Gordon is black, their relationship cannot continue, forcing Selina to choose between her family and her heart. Based on "Be ready with bells and drums" by Elizabeth Kata. 105 min. DVD 4535

Directed by Sidney Lumet. Cast: Rod Steiger, Brock Peters, Jaime Sanchez, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Raymond St. Jacques. Sol Nazerman is a WWII Nazi deathcamp survivor. Now, he runs a pawnshop in Harlem and takes refuge in misery and a bitter condemnation of humanity. When his assistant sacrifices his own life for the pawnbroker during a robbery, Sol is finally confronted with the inherent goodness of the human spirit. 120 min. DVD X4304

Directed by Otto Preminger. Cast: John Phillip Law, Michael Caine, Jane Fonda, Robert Hooks, Burgess Meredith, Faye Dunaway, Diahann Carroll, George Kennedy.
About racial prejudice and emotional unrest in 1940s Georgia. Henry Warren is an unscrupulous and racist landowner obsessed with buying up all available land in a Georgia farming town. Blocking his path are sharecroppers Rod McDowell and Reeve Scott, one white and one black. Based on a novel by K.B. Gilden. 142 min. DVD X6301

Directed by James Clavell. Cast: Sidney Poitier. A novice teacher faces a class of rowdy, undisciplined working-class punks in this classic film that reflected some of the problems and fears of teens in the 60's. 105 min. DVD 4534

Directed by Stanley Kramer. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton. Joanna, the caucasian daughter of a publisher, Matthew Drayton, and his patrician wife, Christina, returns home with her new fiance, John, a distinguished black doctor. Christina's mother accepts her daughter's decision to marry John, but Matthew is shocked by this interracial union, and the doctor's parents are equally dismayed. In this film both families are forced to examine their respective levels of racial intolerance. 108 min. DVD 2318; vhs 999:718

Directed by Arthur Penn. Cast: Lee J. Cobb, Anthony Zerbe, Roscoe Lee Browne, Lee Majors, Barbara Hershey, Yaphet Kotto, Arch Johnson, Chill Wills, Lola Falana, Fayard Nicholas, Dub Taylor.
Lord Byron Jones is a black businessman who owns a successful undertaking business, and is married to the very young and desirable Emma. His ability to cooperate with the white community is clearly an asset in the genteel town of Somerset, Tennessee. When Emma has an affair with a white policeman, divorce ensues and the stage is set for high drama. Based on the novel The liberation of Lord Byron Jones by Jesse Hill Ford. 103 min. DVD X6101

Directed by Robert Downey. Cast: Arnold Johnson, Laura Greene, Buddy Butler, Anthony Fargas, Vincent Hamill, Lawrence Wolfe. A comical satire which charts the rise and fall of a Madison Avenue advertising agency previously controlled by Whites which is taken over by Blacks who are dedicated to the downfall of the White Establishment. The picture is mostly a parade of vignettes, dealing with people and campaigns of the advertising world. 85 min. DVD 8923

Director, Gordon Douglas. Cast: Sidney Poitier, Martin Landau, Barbara McNair, Anthony Zerbe. Detective Virgil Tibbs has been assigned to solve the murder of a prostitute. His pal, a political-minded minister who is spearheading a referendum on community control, is suspected of the homicide and Tibbs is faced with the decision of whether or not to invesigate. 108 min. DVD 4562

Directed by Martin Ritt. Cast: James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, Lou Gilbert, Joel Fluellen, Chester Morris.
Based on the life of African American boxer Jack Johnson, this fictional account of his rise to fame chronicles the battles that the flamboyant champion fought in and out of the ring. Refusing to live within the boundaries deemed acceptable by society, this renowned hero and the woman he loved chose to live their lives the way they wanted-- something which evoked great fury from a narrow-minded world. 102 min. DVD 8059

Director, Fiedler Cook. Cast: Andrew Duggan, Raymond St. Jacques, Cicely Tyson, Jane Wyatt.
Drama about race relations in an all-white suburban community that depicts the confrontation between an upper-class white couple and a black couple from Harlem who plan to buy their expensive suburban home. In negotiating the sale, all four learn a little more about each other-- and a lot about their own latent prejudices. 60 min. DVD X4466

Directed by Martin Ritt. Cast: Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield. Sounder is the heartwarming story of a black sharecropper family in Louisiana during the Depression. A father steals food for his family, his wife provides love, security and strength while he is in prison, and their oldest son bravely becomes the man of the house until his father returns. Together they love and laugh, struggle and survive, and dream and hope of a more promising future. 105 min. DVD X4836; vhs 999:449

Directed by John Korty. Cast: Cicely Tyson, Richard A. Dysart.
Presents the story of the long life of Miss Jane Pittman, who began her life as a slave in the South and who marched for her civil rights in the 20th century at the age of 110. Based on the novel of the same title by Ernest J. Gaines. Special DVD features: "The Making of the Autobiography of Ms. Jane Pittman" documentary - behind the scenes footage; new interviews with Ernest J. Gaines, Odetta, director John Korty, producers Rick Rosenberg and Bob Christiansen and more; "The Writing of the Autobiography of Ms. Jane Pittman" documentary - Ernest J. Gaines gives an in-depth look at the people and places that inspired his award-winning novel; "Oral Story Telling Tradition" documentary - scholars explain the important of oral story-telling; Best Picture and Best Actress Emmy clips; Digitally remastered. 106 min. DVD X4447; Video/C 144

Directors Guild of America - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television

Emmy Awards - Actress of the Year - Special
(Cicely Tyson); Best Directing in Drama - A Single Program - Comedy or Drama; Best Lead Actress in a Drama; Outstanding Special - Comedy or Drama

Walking Tall (1973)

Directed by Phil Karlson. Cast: Joe Don Baker, Noah Beery, Jr., Elizabeth Hartman, Felton Perry, Pepper Martin. Based on the true story of the legendary Tennessee sheriff, Buford Pusser, who with the help of his wife and his right hand man, the first black deputy sheriff in Tennessee, refused to compromise his fight against corruption in his county.
DVD. 126 min. DVD 610

Directed by Richard Fleischer. Cast: James Mason, Susan George, Perry King, Richard Ward, Brenda Sykes, Ken Norton. Based on a best-selling novel, this film moves beyond the sentimentalized South of other films with uncompromising honesty and realism to show the brutalizing nature of slavery, which made victims of both owner and slave. The story centers on a slave owner who buys a new slave at auction hoping to bring in money by training him to fight his other slaves. His wife, jealous over her husband's affair with the slave Helen, seduces the new man to get revenge on her husband and eventually gives birth to a black baby. 121 min. DVD X4286

Directed by Stan Lathan. Cast: LeVar Burton, Madge Sinclair, Robert Doqui. Although Dave and his family are poor sharecroppers in the Deep South in the 1930's, this 15 year-old's problem is shared by teenagers today : he stands with one foot in adulthood and the other in childhood. "Almos' a Man," yet still treated like a child, he struggles for an identity. There's one symbol of manhood, Dave thinks, that could guarantee him instant respect : a gun. Based on the story by Richard Wright. 36 min.min. DVD X3405; vhs Video/C 790Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)

Directed by John Badham. Cast: Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones, Richard Pryor, Rico Dawson. African-American baseball pitcher Bingo Long, tired of being jerked around by the less-than-ethical managers of the Negro League teams, forms his own barnstorming ball club. Though boycotted by powerful Negro League manager Sallison Porter, the Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings flourish, gaining a loyal fandom with every new game and cutting into the League's profits. Finally, Porter offers Long a deal: if the Motor Kings can win one big game with the Negro All-Stars, Long's team will be allowed to join the League. Based on the novel by William Brashler. 111 min. DVD X3172

Directed by Milos Forman. Cast: James Cagney, Brad Dourif, Moses Gunn, Elizabeth McGovern, Kenneth McMillan, James Olson, Mandy Patinkin, Howard E. Rollins, Mary Steenburgen. This vivid, high-energy human tableau interweaves the lives and passions of a middle class, small town family against the scandals and events of a transitional America in 1906. Based on the novel by E. L. Doctorow. 156 min. DVD X1106

Directed by John Landis. Cast: Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott, Jamie Lee Curtis. The rich Duke Brothers wager on whether a born loser like Billy Ray Valentine, a hustler from the ghetto, can become as successful as Winthorpe, a wealthy investment executive, if put in the proper environment--and would a prig like Winthorpe turn to a life of crime if he were to lose it all. 116 min. DVD 3779

Directed by Martin Brest. Cast: Eddie Murphy, Lisa Eilbacher, Steven Berkoff, Judge Reinhold, Ronny Cox. Axel Foley is a brash, street smart Detroit detective who follows the trail of a friend's murderer to the posh surroundings of Beverly Hills. And before Axel gets his man, he gets up to his neck in an international network of smugglers and drug peddlers. 105 min. DVD X1034

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Cast: Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Diane Lane, Lonette McKee, Bob Hoskins, Nicolas Cage, Fred Gwynne. In 1928 New York, spirits are high and jazz, dancing and gangsters rule supreme. Harlem's Cotton Club is in the center of it all, where rich upper-eastsiders mix with dressed-up mobsters. On stage is gifted coronet player Dixie Dwyer, who dreams of the big time, and tap sensation Sandman Williams who can't touch his girl, the lovely singer Lila Rose Oliver, because of strict club rules. As tension rises, so do tempers, and the nightclub becomes a pressure-cooker of jilted loves and mob jobs. 129 min. DVD 788; VHS 999:2852

Directed by Norman Jewison. Cast: Howard E. Rollins, Jr., Adolph Caesar. A race relations drama about a military murder at a black army base near the end of World War II, and the subsequent investigation of the murder. Based on: A soldier's play / Charles Fuller. Special features: Production notes, March to freedom documentary narrated by Paul Winfield, director Norman Jewison's commentary, original theatrical trailer, bonus theatrical trailer. 102 min. DVD X4279; vhs 999:375

Directed by John Berry. Cast: James Earl Jones, Diahann Carroll, David Kruger. While struggling to support herself and her six children in Harlem by working as a maid for a wealthy family, Claudine meets a charming garbage man, Roop. But although Roop is smitten with the lovely single mother, his own life trials make him slow to respond to her invitation to a lifetime of love. 92 min. DVD 3709

Steven Spielberg's movie adaptation of Alice Walker's novel. Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Adolph Caesar, Margaret Avery, Rae Dawn Chong, Oprah Winfrey. A young uneducated woman living in the rural South is raped by her father who then forces her to marry a man who beats her. Her life is transformed by the friendship of two women who help her find self-respect and the courage to change her life. Based on the novel by Alice Walker: (Bancroft BANC MSS 92/109 z (typescript) Non-circulating; may be used only in The Bancroft Library; Circulating copies: Moffitt PS3573.A425.C6 1985; Main Stack PS3573.A425.C6 1992) 154 min. DVD 28; vhs 999:228

Directed by John Sayles. A sci-fantasy adventure about a black visitor from outer space. Fleeing earth to escape slavery on a distant world, he spashes down in New York harbor and makes his way to Harlem, where he's accepted by the regulars at a local bar, and persued by two alien bounty hunters. 109 min. DVD 1820

Directed by Volker Schlöndorff. Cast: Louis Gossett Jr., Holly Hunter, Richard Widmark.
A regular day in a Louisiana sugarcane plantation changes course when a local white farmer, a racist, is shot. A group of old, black men takes a courageous step by coming forward en masse to take responsibility for the killing. As the sheriff confronts the suspects, the young plantation owner stands alone in her defense of this group of men who stand resolute against decades of injustice. Based on the novel, A gathering of old men, by Ernest J. Gaines. 94 min. DVD X3779; vhs 999:3603

Campbell, Zach "Consciousness and Racial Consience in the Work of Robert Mulligan."
The Film Journal, Issue 11 January 2005 UC users only

Keser, Robert "Clara's Heart, Robert Mulligan's Voice." The Film Journal, Issue 11 January 2005 UC users only

Coming to America (1988)

Directed by John Landis. Cast: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, John Amos, Madge Sinclair, Shari Headley. Murphy plays a very wealthy and pampered African prince who comes to America in search of a bride. Accompanied by his closest companion, Murphy quickly finds a job, new friends, new digs, new enemies--and lots of trouble. 116 min. DVD 7106

Dugga, Victor S. "Africa from the American Lens: A Comparative View of the Films Sheena and Coming to America."
SORAC Journal of African Studies: Society of Research on African Cultures, vol. 1, pp. 107-15, Apr 2000

Olaniyan, Tejumola. "'Uplift the Race!' Coming to America, Do the Right Thing, and the Poetics of 'Othering'." Cultural-Critique, 1996 Fall, 34, 91-113.

Mississippi Burning (1988)

Directed by Alan Parker. Cast: Gene Hackman and Willem Defoe. Set in Mississippi in 1964, this is a fictionalized version of the case of the murder of three young civil rights workers, the FBI's attempts to find the missing boys and the clash between the authorities and the locals in a Klan-dominated town. 127 min. DVD 4902; vhs 999:374

Directed by Rick Rubin. Cast: Run-DMC, Richard Edson, Jenny Lumet, Raymond White, Lois Ayers ; special appearances by the Beastie Boys, Slick Rick, Junkyard Band. After a friend discovers a money-laundering scheme and is murdered, the band members take the law into their own hands and avenge their friend's death. 89 min. 999:3175

Directed by Samuel Fuller. Cast: Kristy McNichol, Paul Winfield, Burl Ives, Jameson Parker, Christa Fuller, Sam Fuller, Lynne Moody, Marshall Thompson.
A German shepherd is adopted by an actress who learns that the dog has been trained to attack only African Americans. Now it's up to an animal trainer to try to change the vicious dog.

""This is a thriller, and it's also a complete metaphor," said Sam Fuller of his controversial feature which went unreleased theatrically for ten years. Loosely based on a story by Romain Gary, White Dog concerns a dog trained to attack blacks. Paul Winfield portrays a trainer who takes on the task of deprogramming the animal on behalf of its new owner (Kristy McNichol). With frequent point-of-view shots from the dog's perspective, Fuller makes a case for his thesis, which is that racism is "a disease created by man" and that infecting the animal is itself a form of violence. The idea of a "white dog" is dehumanizing, but accusations of racism toward Fuller were perhaps derived from a misunderstanding of the film's content, as well as intent. In Gary's story, the dog is retrained to attack whites, perpetuating the cycle of racism; Fuller's version has Winfield (in a fine performance) attempting to cure the dog. Overlooking Fuller's history of anti-racist films, the NAACP urged a boycott, inspiring the studio to shelve the finished film." [Pacific Film Archives - Banned in the USA]
Based on the story by Romain Gary. Special features: Interviews with Jon Davison, Curtis Hanson and Sam Fuller's widow, Christa Lang-Fuller; interview with dog trainers Karl Lewis-Miller; rare photos from the films production; booklet featuring essays by critics J. Hoberman and Armond White. 90 min. DVD X3145

Directed by Bruce Beresford. Cast: Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd, Patti Lupone, Esther Rolle. Set in Atlanta in the 1950's, a textile factory owner insists on hiring an ever-patient chauffeur for his aging head-strong mother. The Jewish woman and her African American driver eventually build a relationship over many years. 99 min. DVD 5147

Directed by Bill Duke. Performers: Scarletta DuPois, Danny Glover, Kimble Joyner, Kim Yancey, Esther Rolle, Lou Ferguson, Joseph C. Phillips, Helen Martin, John Fiedler, Stephen Henderson. A $10,000 insurance benefit creates conflicting dreams within a Chicago ghetto family. Son, Walter Lee wants to start his own business while his mom wishes to spend her days in a little house of her own. Their love a bond, their warmhearted humor a breath of fresh air, their tenative hold on dignity - their lifeline. A family caught between the reality of their surroundings and a chance at a piece of the American dream. 171 min. DVD X7261; Video 999:670 Pt. 1-2

Written and directed by Boris Frumin. Cast: Elena Shevchenko, Gilbert Giles, Patrick Godfrey, Gina Delio, Hayward Boling, Debra Jo Jackson, Stephen Parris. The story of Lisa, a young Soviet emigre studying medicine in Manhattan and Roy, an African American building superintendent on New York's Lower East Side. Edgy and emotionally complex, this nocturnal love story is suffused with the melancholy and anxiety of not belonging, and full of the sad understanding of what it means to be a stranger. 96 min. 999:2253

Directed by Richard Pearce. Cast: Sissy Spacek, Whoopi Goldberg, Dwight Schultz. When Odessa Cotter, a quietly dignified woman, honors the 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott by walking an exhausting nine miles to and from work, Miriam, her employer, offers her a ride. Defying both Miriam's racist husband and the powerful White Citizen's Council, Miriam and Odessa put their lives in danger for civil rights. Their shared experiences draw them closer as a deep respect and lasting friendship forms. Together, in a difficult world of black versus white, they manage to discover a common ground. 98 min. DVD 8667; vhs 999:940

Directed by Mira Nair. Cast: Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, Roshan Seth, Sharmila Tagore, Charles S. Dutton, Joe Seneca, Ranjit Chowdhry. In this interracial love story, an African American businessman falls for a beautiful Indian immigrant who's family was expelled from Uganda under the reign of dictator, Idi Amin. As their love grows they must deal with shock and outrage from both families. 118 min. DVD 2107; vhs 999:1201

Directed by George Stevens Jr. Cast: Sidney Poitier, Burt Lancaster and Richard Kiley. This film depicts a small town in South Carolina in the year 1950 as the issue of segregation between blacks and whites comes to a bitter, violent and courageous battle. 193 min. 999:418

Directed by Leslie Harris. Cast: Ariyan A. Johnson, Kevin Thigpen, Ebony Jerido, Jerard Washington, Chiquita Jackson, Kisha Richardson.
A black teenage girl living in Brooklyn dreams of medical school, a family, and an escape from the generational poverty of the inner city. Her dreams are put on hold when she becomes pregnant by her boyfriend. 97 min. DVD X439

Directed by Emile Ardolino. Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes, Harvey Keitel, Bill Nunn. In this comedy a sassy, low-rent lounge singer is forced to hide out from the mob in the last place on earth anyone would look for her -- in a convent. While there she turns the convent choir into a "soulful chorus of swingin' sisters" complete with a Motown repertoire. The sudden celebrity of the choir however jeopardizes her hidden identity. 100 min. DVD X7148; vhs 999:3219

Directed by Steve Anderson; produced by Oliver Stone. Cast: Glenn Plummer, Carl Lumbly, Christian Coleman, Byron Minns, Lexie Bigham, Vincent Craig Dupree, LaRita Shelby. Bobby Johnson knows firsthand the ways of an L.A. street gang--and has been jailed for it. But now he has won his freedom and faces a new urgency: reclaiming his 10-year old son from the mean streets' cycle of hate and death. Based on Donald Bakeer's best seller about gang life, "Crips". 99 min. DVD X4835; vhs 999:2232

Director Fred Schepisi. Cast: Stockard Channing, Will Smith, Donald Sutherland, Flan Kittredge, Ian
McKellen. When Manhattan art dealers take a smooth talking young man into their home believing him to be a friend of their children and Sidney Poitier's son, they awake the next morning to find him in bed with a male friend whom he had invited in for the night. 101 min. DVD X4370

Directed by Leon Ichaso. Cast: Wesley Snipes, Michael Wright, Theresa Randle, Leslie Uggams, Abe Vigoda.
Roemello Skuggs and his older brother Raynathan grew up in Harlem with junkies for a mother and father. At an early age, the boys began working for one of the local bosses, Gus. As the years go by, their influence and power expands, until they have become the premier drug dealers in the neighborhood, wielding power to be reckoned with. But Roemello is becoming disillusioned with his life of crime, and is desperately seeking a way out, even as Raynathan tries to keep the "team" together. 123 min. DVD X2644

Directed by John Landis. Cast: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, Hector Elizondo, Theresa Randle.
Axle Foley, while investigating a car theft ring, comes across something much bigger than that: the same men who shot his boss are running a counterfeit money ring out of LA's popular theme park, WonderWorld. 104 min. DVD X1034

Directed by Jessie Nelson. Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Ray Liotta, Tina Majorino, Wendy Crewson, Larry Miller, Joan Cusack, Don Ameche. A funny, heart-warming story of a newly widowed man struggling to raise his little girl, and the woman who brings magic and laughter back into their lives when she comes to be their housekeeper. 115 min. DVD X6569

Directed by Robert Altman. Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Michael Murphy, Dermot Mulroney, Steve Buscemi, Brooke Smith. Set in 1934 Kansas City, a telegraph operator named Blondie kidnaps Carolyn Stilton, wife of a powerful businessman who commutes to Washington to advise President Roosevelt. Blondie figures she can use Carolyn to gain safe passage for her husband Johnny who is in the grip of the city's top gangster, a club owner named Seldom Seen. The movie unfolds in the dark streets of the downtown Kansas City night. 116 min. DVD X2140; vhs 999:2090

Directed by Wes Craven. Cast: Eddie Murphy, Angela Bassett, Allen Payne, Kadeem Hardison, John Witherspoon. Maximillian is the only survivor from a race of vampires on a Caribbean Island, and as a vampire, he must find a mate to keep the line from ending. He knows that a child had been born to a woman who had a vampire father, and he searches for her in Brooklyn. Rita's mother, who has died in an asylum, was that woman and Rita has nightmares that she does not understand. Not knowing that she is part vampire, Max woos her but only Rita can decide her destiny as she is pursued by Maximillian, the most diabolical, dashing and definitely undead dude in the 'hood. 102 min. DVD X2279

Tannenbaum, Leslie. "Policing Eddie Murphy : the unstable black body in Vampire in Brooklyn." In: The fantastic vampire : studies in the children of the night : selected essays from the Eighteenth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts / edited by James Craig Holte.
Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2002.
(Main (Gardner) Stacks PR830.V3 I58 1997)

Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)

Directed by Rob Reiner. Cast: Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, James Woods, Craig T. Nelson. For three decades Myrlie Evers waited and worked for the conviction of the white supremacist who murdered her husband, civil rights leader Medgar Evers. Yet after two hung juries justice had not come. This film follows the final trial, carefully recreating the details of a relentless quest for justice. Film features special appearances by three children of Medgar Evers, plus Yoland King, the daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. 131 min. DVD 8979

Directed by Jeff Pollack. Cast: Jamie Foxx, Tommy Davidson, Vivica A. Fox, Tamala Jones. After weeks of dating, Rushon and Nikki think they might be in love. And they know they're in lust. There's just one little problem--Nikki insists on double-dating with her best friend Lysterine on the night Rushon has reserved for romance. 79 min. DVD 2936

Directed by Joseph Sargent. Cast; Alfre Woodard, Laurence Fishburne, Craig Sheffer, Joe Morton, Obba Babatundé, Thom Gossom Jr., Von Coulter, E.G. Marshall, Ossie Davis. Based on the shocking true story, this film exposes a government backed medical research effort on humans which led to tragic consequences. In 1932, Nurse Eunice Evers was invited to work with doctors on the "Tuskegee Experiment" to study the effects of syphilis. She is faced with a terrible dilemma when she learns the patients are denied treatment that could cure them. Based on the play: Miss Evers' boys / by David Feldshuh. 118 min. DVD X5597

Directed by Alan Baxter. Cast: Jamaul Roots, Geoffrey Garcy, Sedley Bloomfield, Derrick Robberts, Quentin Crisp, Annie Golden. A drama about an unlikely friendship between two black youths in New York City, one rich and one poor, and the barriers of race and class that threaten to drive them apart. Tori, a lonely affluent teen befriends a streetwise, tough named Snake from Harlem, but when Tori's father's credit card turns up missing, Snake is blamed. Upset, Tori's pursuit of Snake leads the pair into a deadly showdown that not only tests the limits of their friendship, but forces those around them to reevaluate their own notions of race, class and loyalty. 90 min. 999:3051

Beloved (1998)

Directed by Jonathan Demme. Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise, Beah Richards, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Albert Hall. After Paul D. finds his old slave friend Sethe in Ohio and moves in with her and her daughter Denver, a strange girl comes along by the name of "Beloved." Sethe and Denver take her in and help her to finally rediscover who she is and regain her lost sense of hope. 1998. 172 min. DVD 8328

Directed by Warren Beatty. Cast: Warren Beatty, Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Paul Sorvino, Jack Warden, Isaiah Washington. A suicidally disillusioned liberal politician puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture. 108 min. DVD X1037

Directed by Marc Levin. Cast: Saul Williams, Sonja Sohn, Bonz Malone, Beau Sia, Lawrence Wilson.
Trapped in Dodge City, a drug-infested war zone in southeast Washington D.C., Ray Joshua gets caught up in a drug deal gone bad and is sucked into the criminal justice system. In jail he finds truth in himself and his craft through Lauren Bell, a beautiful and charismatic writing teacher who leads him to the path of salvation. Using his talent for poetic rap, Ray learns to survive and rise above the pain of his lost generation. Special features: Interactive menus ; scene access ; trailer ; production commentary with Marc Levine & Bonz Malone ; music video, The world I know by Goodie Mob & Esthero. 103 min. DVD 5486

Directed by Frank Darabont. Cast: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey DeMunn, Patricia Clarkson, Harry Dean Stanton. Death Row guards at a penitentiary, in the 1930's, have a moral dilemma with their job when they discover one of their prisoners, a convicted murderer, has the power of faith healing and is able to perform what seem to be miracles of healing among his fellow inmates. 188 min. DVD 1342

Directed by Norman Jewison. Cast: Denzel Washington, John Hannah, Deborah Kara Unger, Liev Schreiber, Vicellous Reon Shannon, David Paymer, Dan Hedaya, Harris Yulin, Rod Seiger. Based upon true events, this is the story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, an African American boxer who was wrongfully convicted of murder. Sentenced to life in prison, Carter's published memoir, The sixteenth round, inspired a teenager from Brooklyn and three Canadian activists who believed in the truth, to join forces with Carter to prove his innocence. 166 min. DVD X2247

Caster, Peter. ""Based upon a true story": the hurricane and the problem of prison redemption."
In: Prisons, race, and masculinity in twentieth-century U.S. literature and film / Peter Caster.
(Main Stack PS228.I66.C37 2008)

Directed by Peyton Reed. Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, Gabrielle Union. The Toro cheerleading squad has spirit, spunk, sass and a killer routine that's sure to land them the national championship torphy for the sixth year in a row. But for newly-elected team captain, Torrance, the Toros' road to cheer glory stumbles when she discovers their perfectly choreographed routines were stolen from a hot hip-hop squad across town. Now the squad must scramble to find a new routine to compete in this year's competition. 99 min. DVD 1359

Directed by Chi Muoi Lo. Cast: Paul Winfield, Mary Alice, Chi Muoi Lo, Kieu Chinh, Lauren Tom, Sanaa Lathan, Tyler Christopher, George Wallace. Mai and her brother Dwayne were Vietnamese orphans in a refugee camp when an African-American couple adopted them 22 years ago. As an adult, Mai tracks down her mother and brings her to America for the first time. Now, after an emotional reunion, Dwayne and Mai face conflicting feelings over their identities and loyalites in this touching and funny look at what it means to be family. 119 min. DVD 1799

Director, Michael Martin. Cast: Snoop Dogg, Tray Deee, Goldie Loc, Darryl Brunson, Xzibit, Warren G., RBS, Jayo Felony, Tash. A gang kingpin is looking to get out of the game after one final deal, only to have his trusted lieutenant betray him. Aided by friends outside prison, Killa Pop plans an ingenious escape and a brutal payback. Features a who's who of the West Coasts's top rap artists. 90 min. DVD X4876

Directed by Michael Mann. Cast: Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright, Mykelti Williamson, Jada Pinkett Smith, Nona M. Gaye, Michael Michele, Joe Morton. Dramatic biography of boxing great Muhammad Ali, which focuses on the ten-year period of 1964-1974. In that time, the brash, motor-mouthed athlete quickly dominates his sport, meets and marries his first wife, converts to Islam (changing his name from Cassius Clay), and defies the United States government by refusing to submit to military conscription for duty in Vietnam. His world heavyweight championship title thus stripped from him entirely for political reasons, the champ sets about to win back his crown, culminating in a legendary unification bout against George Foreman in Zaire, dubbed the "Rumble in the Jungle." 157 min. DVD 1231

Directed by Peter Medak. Cast: Robert Ri'chard, Ben Vereen, Ossie Davis, Jennifer Beals, Ruby Dee, James Earl Jones, Eartha Kitt, Forest Whitaker.
Set in nineteenth-century New Orleans, this television mini-series depicts the gens de couleur libre, or the Free People of Colour, a dazzling yet damned class caught between the world of white privilege and black oppression. Based on the novel by Anne Rice. 212 min. DVD X1896

Directed by Billy Wirth. Cast: Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Brandon Adams, Tami Anderson, B-Real, Bad Azz, Elenn Cleghorne, Julie Delpy, David Faustino, Balthazar Getty, Rachel Hunter.
Life in the park is daily warfare with rival gangs, police raids, the wealthy decadents who come for drugs and the ongoing demons of addiction, and the harder Cody tries to escape the park, the more it seems to close in on him. Special features: Commentary with director Billy Wirth, writer Tyrone Atkins and actor Thomas Jefferson Byrd, the making of MacArthur Park, U.S. trailer. 88 min. DVD X3778

Directed by Marc Forster. Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Heath Ledger, Halle Berry, Sean Combs, Mos Def, Will Rokos, Milo Addica, Coronji Calhoun, Peter Boyle. Hank and Leticia inhabit stark, queasy realities of the contemporary South, he as a death row corrections officer and she as the soon-to-be widow of an inmate whose execution Hank helps conduct. In the aftermath of the execution, both lose their children to tragic deaths and they form an unlikely bond. 112 min. DVD 1218

Academy Award - Best Actress (Halle Berry) (1st Best Actress Award for an African American actress)

Cryptz (2002)

Directed by Danny Draven. Cast: Choice Skinner, Rick Irvin, Dennis Waller, Jr, Lunden DeLeon, Ty Badger, Olympia Fernandez.
Tymez, Fuzzy Down, and Likrish aren't what you'd call big names in the rap world. After meeting Stesha, though, their hopes and dreams suddenly seem a little closer to reality -- if only they can convince her to pair up with them. Stesha eventually leads them to Cryptz, a strip club where not everything is as it seems. When the dancers start turning to blood-suckers, the rapping trio find out they got more than they bargained for -- especially after the strippers' leader, Kulada, discovers that Tymez might be the missing link in the vampire apocalypse. 80 min. DVD X2265

Directed by Todd Haynes. Cast: Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson, Viola Davis, James Rebhorn. Cathy is the perfect 50s housewife, living the perfect 50s life: healthy kids, successful husband, social prominence. Then one night she surprises her husband Frank having sex with another man, and her tidy world starts spinning out of control. In her confusion and grief, she finds consolation in the friendship of their African-American gardener, Raymond--a socially taboo relationship that leads to the further disintegration of life as she knew it. 107 min. DVD 1713

Directed by Robert Dornhelm. Cast: Tom Sizemore, Richard Jenkins, Ving Rhames, Colm Feore.
Based on a true story, this television production looks at events surrounding the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. in 1963 which killed four young African America girls. Now, in 1998, the FBI has reopened the case, and Tom Cherry's memories are recalled about the turbulent years of his childhood. He is forced to come to terms with his past, facing his father's possible involvement with the KKK, and his part in the crime. With the help of his friend, Tom finds the strength to testify against his father. 93 min. DVD 2392

Directed by Robert Benton. Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise, Wentworth Miller, Jacinda Barrett, Harry Lennix, Clark Gregg.
Coleman Silk is a respected professor at a New England college who suddenly finds his life unraveling after a comment he makes about some African-American students is misinterpreted as a racial slur. As the scandal heats up, Nathan Zuckerman, a writer researching a biography of Silk, begins to dig deeply into Silk's life. Eventually, matters are made worse when Coleman's affair with a young married janitor named Faunia Farley is exposed. But amid the controversy, Silk must struggle to keep his greatest secret, a secret he's held for the majority of his life, from becoming made public. Based on the novel: The human stain by Philip Roth. 105 min. DVD X1748

Directed by Michael Mann. Cast: Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, Bruce McGill, Irma P. Hall, Barry Shabaka Henley. Vincent is a cool, calculating contract killer at the top of his game. Max is a cabbie with big dreams looking for his next fare. This fateful night, Max becomes Vincent's collateral, and will transport him on his next mission - one night, five stops, five hits and then a perfect getaway. Together, Vincent and Max find themselves in a non-stop race against time. With the LAPD and the FBI after them, they each become dependent on the other to survive. 119 min. DVD 3780

Directed by Jeremy Kagan. Cast: Mario Van Peebles, Howie Mandel, Jeremy Blackman, Dequan Henderson, Jason Blicker.
In August of 1991, an African American boy (Gavin Cato) was accidentally killed by a car driven by a Hasidic Jewish man in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. Four hours later Yankel Rosenbaum was murdered in retaliation. For the following three days, the Heights experienced riots and racial tensions. The efforts of an African American youth leader and a Hasidic rabbi bring the polarized communities together. During this time, two teens, Yudi Simon and T.J. Moses forge a friendship based on a mutual love of rap music and dance. Two groups that have suffered persecution throughout the centuries embrace tolerance and discover that progress is possible. 88 min. DVD 8284

Directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan. Cast: Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutcher, Zoe Saldana, Judith Scott, Hal Williams, Kellee Stewart, Robert Curtis Brown. Percy Jones is the understandably proud father of Theresa. She is a beautiful and intelligent young woman living in New York City. When Percy learns that his daughter is seriously dating a young man, he decides to do some research, and learns that her beau is a solid businessman. Percy arranges to meet Theresa's boyfriend and is a bit taken aback when he meets Simon. Percy never guessed that his daughter was involved in an interracial relationship. When it becomes clear that Simon and Theresa's relationship is likely to be altar-bound, Percy finds himself suddenly full of misgivings about the young man. 105 min. DVD 4177

Directed by Craig Brewer. Cast: Terrence Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, Taraji P. Henson, Paula Jai Parker, Isaac Hayes, D.J. Qualls, Ludacris. Rapper DJay, who dreams of becoming the next big rap superstar, works all the angles to get his first record made. He even has help from assorted people in his Memphis 'hood. When he hears that rap superstar Skinny Black is heading to his area, DJay decides to throw together a supreme hustle to grab Skinny's attention. 116 min. DVD 4985

Directed by Lars Von Trier. Cast: JBryce Dallas Howard, Isaach De Bankhole, Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, Lauren Bacall, Chloe Sevigny.
A young girl traveling across 1930's America with her father, discovers a plantation that doesn't know that slavery has been abolished. Can this well-meaning girl and her lawyer father change the minds and hearts of the plantation owners? 139 min. DVD 7479

Directed by Michael Apted. Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Rufus Sewell, Michael Gambon, Albert Finney, Youssou N'Dour, Ciaran Hinds.
A dramatization of the life of the human rights activist, cultural reformer and member of Parliament, William Wilberforce who sustained a twenty-year fight in 19th century England, endeavoring to end the British transatlantic slave trade. Wilberforce encountered intense opposition from members of Parliament but his minister John Newton, a reformed slave ship captain who penned the hymn "Amazing Grace" urged him to see the cause through. 118 min. DVD 8799Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database

Dreamgirls (2006)

Directed by Bill Condon. Cast: Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose, Keith Robinson, Sharon Leal, Hinton Battle, Jennifer Hudson.
Deena Jones, Effie White, and Lorrell Robinson, three young African-American women in 1960s Detroit, dream of becoming pop stars. They get their wish after a local talent show when they are picked to be backup singers for the legendary James "Thunder" Early. As they become more successful over time, each of the girls discovers the costs and compromises exacted by their desire to be in the music business.
Special features (Disc 1): 12 never-before-seen extended musical numbers; Listen (Beyonce music video). (Disc 2). Building the dream (behind-the-scenes full-length documentary); original auditions and screen tests; previsualization sequences; image gallery; additional featurettes. 130 min. DVD 7816

Directed by Gabriele Muccino. Cast: Will Smith, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, Thandie Newton, Brian Howe, James Karen, Dan Castellaneta, Kurt Fuller, Takayo Fischer.
In 1981, Chris Gardner was a struggling salesman. His wife worked double shifts to support the family including their young son, Christopher. In the face of this difficult life, Chris has the desperate inspiration to try for a stockbroker internship where one in twenty has a chance of a lucrative full time career. Even when his wife leaves him because of this choice, Chris clings to this dream. The odds become more daunting by the day. Together, father and son struggle through homelessness, jail time, tax seizure and the overall punishing despair in a quest that would make Gardner a respected millionaire. Based on a true story, the special features include an interview with the real Chris Gardner. Based on the autiobiography by Chris Gardner.
Special features: Making pursuit: an Italian take on the American dream; Father and son: on screen and off; The man behind the movie: a conversation with Chris Gardner; Inside the Rubik's Cube; "I can" song; director's commentary. 149 min. DVD 7355

Director Sanaa Hamri. Cast: Sanaa Lathan, Simon Baker, Mike Epps, Donald Faison, Blair Underwood, Wendy Rachel Robinson, Golden Brooks, Taraji P. Henson, Alfre Woodard.
A beautiful L.A. career woman, Kenya works as a senior manager at a prestigious accounting firm, and is on the verge of making partner. But she has yet to find her own partner and a fulfilling personal life. After another Valentine's Day spent working late, Kenya agrees to a blind date with Brian, a free-spirited landscape architect who is not exactly what she'd pictured for herself. But it's when her perfect match, Mark, enters the picture that Kenya is truly thrown into confusion and ultimately, must decide what she truly wants. Special features: An introduction to the film by Blair Underwood; "The do's and dont's of dating": from lust to love, the cast of 'Something New' gives everyone something to laugh about with their hilarious insights on the dating scene; the making-of 'Something New': go behind the scenes with the cast and crew and see exclusive never-before-seen footage from the set. 100 min. 9568

Directed by Ridley Scott. Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Josh Brolin, Ted Levine, Armand Assante, John Ortiz, John Hawkes, RZA, Lymari Nadal, Roger Guenveur Smith. Disc one: Unrated extended version (177 min.) ; Original theatrical version (158 min.) -- Disc two: Special features (ca. 113 min.) -- Disc three: Special features (ca. 53 min.).
Following the death of his employer and mentor, Bumpy Johnson, Frank Lucas establishes himself as the number one importer of heroin in Harlem. He does so by buying heroin directly from a source in South East Asia. Lucas comes up with a unique way of importing the drugs into the United States and as a result, his product is superior to what is currently available on the street and his prices are lower. His alliance with the New York Mafia ensures his position. It is also the story of Richie Roberts, a dedicated and honest policeman who heads up a joint narcotics task force with the Federal government. Inspired by a true story. Special features: Disc one: Feature commentary with director Ridley Scott and writer Steven Zailian (Theatrical version only) ; Disc two: Deleted scenes including an alternate opening; "Fallen empire: making 'American gangster'"; Case files ; Disc three: Music videos: "Do you feel me (Remix)" performed by Anthony Hamilton featuring Ghostface Killah, "Blue magic" from Jay-Z's album "American gangster"; Hip-hop infusion featuring Common and T.I.; "The BET special: the making of 'American gangster'"; "Dateline NBC: 'American gangster' first look"; Theatrical trailer. 335 min. DVD 9554

First released in 1915, D.W. Griffith's Birth of a nation ignited worldwide controversy with its graphic depictions of racism and white supremacy in the post-Civil War South. Nearly 100 years later, Paul D. Miller also known as conceptual artist/musician/writer DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, creates a daring 'remix' of Griffith's epic to expose the film's true meaning and relate it to the socio-political conflicts of America today. 100 min. DVD X4700

Director, Richard LaGravenese. Cast: Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton, April Lee Hernandez, Mario, Kristin Herrera, Jacklyn Ngan, Sergio Montalvo, Jason Finn, Deance Wyatt, Vanetta Smith, Gabriel Chavarria, Hunter Parrish.
Dramatization of a true story about a teacher in a racially divided school who gives her students what they've always needed, a voice. Erin Gruwell comes to a southern California high school bubbling over with naive optimism. She quickly discovers that her unruly classroom is not easily won over by her good intentions. After a few floundering attempts to connect with her students, Gruwell gives them the assignment of keeping journals about their own lives. This assignment is something that the class can bite into with relish. This eventually bonds them together and pushes racial rivalries aside. Draws heavily from the published journals of the real students themselves. Special features: Feature-length commentary by director Richard LaGravenese and actor Hilary Swank; deleted scenes; featurettes; theatrical trailer; photo gallery. Based on the book "The Freedom Writers diary: how a teacher and 150 teens used writing to change themselves and the world around them" by the Freedom Writers and Erin Gruwell (MOFF: HQ796 .F76355 1999). 122 min. DVD 7635

Director: Lance Hammer. Cast: Micheal J. Smith, Sr., Jimmyron Ross, Tarra Riggs, Johnny McPhail. In the cold winter light of the Mississippi Delta, three lonely people stumble under the weight of a shared tragedy. Lawrence is paralyzed with grief after the suicide of his twin brother. Twelve-year-old James drifts into the perilous orbit of local teenagers while his single mother, Marlee, is too exhausted from her menial job to interpret the clues. Sudden violence forces mother and son to flee their home and they alight on Lawrence's property. This safe harbor rekindles the fury of a bitter, longstanding conflict. Special features: "Ballast Scene Development," a 37-minute making-of feature charting the evolution of several scenes through the improvisational conflict sessions and two-month rehearsal process that gave form to the final film; original theatrical trailer; a new essay by film critic Amy Taubin. 96 min. DVD X7311

Directed by Peter Berg. Cast: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Jae Head, Eddie Marsan.
"The powerful superhero John Hancock has become a joke because of his alcoholism and clumsiness. He has also become the most hated man in Los Angeles. Though he has saved many lives, he also destroyed a lot of property, costing the city millions every time he goes into action. When he saves the life of PR expert Ray Embrey from an oncoming train, the executive is thankful and believes he can restore Hancock's image as a true superhero. He brings the anti-hero home for dinner and introduces him to his son Aaron, a big fan, and to his wife, Mary. But for some mysterious reason Mary doesn't want Hancock anywhere near her or her family." Special features: Superhumans : the making of Hancock; Seeing the future : an in-depth look at the scenes of Hancock using pre-visualization, film and behind-the-scenes footage; Building a better hero : special effects featurette; Bumps and bruises : stunts featurette; Mere mortals : behind the scenes with "Dirty Pete," the directing style of Peter Berg. 102 min. DVD X5324

Directed by John Lee Hancock. Cast: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Jae Head, Lily Collins, Ray McKinnon, Kim Dickens, Adriane Lenox, Kathy Bates.
Based on the true life story of Michael Oher. Mike, a homeless African-American teenager from a broken home is taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. Living in his new environment, Mike faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome-- as both a football player and student. Mike works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle. Based on the book "The blind side: evolution of a game" by Michael Lewis. 128 min. DVD X2851

Directed by Joe Wright. Cast: Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey, Jr., Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander, Lisagay Hamilton.
Tells the true story of journalist Steve Lopez who discovers Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a former classical music prodigy, playing his violin on the streets of L.A. As Lopez endeavors to help the homeless man find his way back, a unique friendship is formed, one that transforms both their lives. 116 min.DVD X1902

Directed by Tate Taylor. Cast: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Cicely Tyson, Mike Vogel, Sissy Spacek, Allison Janney, Chris Lowell, Ahna O'Reilly, Mary Steenburgen.
In 1960s Mississippi, Skeeter, a southern society girl, returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends' lives, and a small Mississippi town, upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families. Aibileen, Skeeter's best friend's housekeeper, is the first to open up, to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community. Based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett. 146 min.DVD X6800

Directed by Robert Child. Cast: Ken Arnold, Chris Cudzilo, Thomas McArdle. Narrator, Corey Reynolds
During World War II, 1.2 million African-Americans served in America's Armed Forces. Fully 125,000 served overseas, and 708 were killed. Among these were the Wereth Eleven. Based on true events, this docudrama tells the story of these eleven men who were ruthlessly murdered by the Nazi SS during the Battle of the Bulge. Weaved together are exciting visual effects, never-before-seen archival footage, and compelling interviews to detail one of the least-known atrocities committed during World War II. Extra features: panel discussion held at the film's premiere at the National World War II Museum with the producers ; an extended interview with the Joseph Springer ; trailer ; The Wereth 11 exposed, a short film displaying the specia effects used in making the movie. 60 min.DVD X6737

Eddie "Rochester" Anderson (May 30, 1902 – November 19, 1985)
Often known as Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, was an American comic actor who became famous playing "Rochester van Jones" (usually known simply as "Rochester"), the valet to Jack Benny's eponymous title character on the long-running radio and television series The Jack Benny Program.

"Dorothy Jean Dandridge was an American actress and popular singer, and was the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.[1]
She performed as a vocalist in venues such as the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater. In 1954, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Carmen Jones, and, in 1959, was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Porgy and Bess. In 1999, she was the subject of the HBO biopic Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. She has been recognized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame." [Wikipedia]

"After working as early as the 1910s as a band vocalist, Hattie McDaniel debuted as a maid in The Golden West (1932). Her maid-mammy characters became steadily more assertive, showing up first in Judge Priest (1934) and becoming pronounced in Alice Adams (1935). In this one, directed by George Stevens and aided and abetted by star Katharine Hepburn, she makes it clear she has little use for her employers' pretentious status seeking. By The Mad Miss Manton (1938) she actually tells off her socialite employer Barbara Stanwyck and her snooty friends. This path extends into the greatest role of her career, Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939). Here she is, in a number of ways, superior to most of the white folk surrounding her. From that point here roles unfortunately descended, with her characters becoming more and more menial. She played on the "Amos and Andy" and Eddie Cantor radio shows in the 1930s and 1940s; the title in her own radio show "Beulah" (1947-51), and the same part on TV ("Beulah" (1950)). Her part in Gone with the Wind (1939) won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, the first black to win an Academy Award." [IMDB]

Stepin Fetchit was the stage name of American comedian and film actor Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry (May 30, 1902–November 19, 1985). His typical film persona and stage name have long been synonymous with the stereotype of the servile, shiftless, simple-minded black man in early 20th Century American film. There has been a more recent revisionist view that sees his film persona as ultimately subversive of the status quo. Perry parlayed the Fetchit persona into a successful film career, eventually becoming a millionaire, the first black actor in history to do so. [Wikipedia]

was an American bass-baritone concert singer, recording artist, athlete and actor who became noted for his political radicalism and pioneering activism in the civil rights movement.[2] The son of an escaped slave, Robeson was the first major concert star to popularize the performance of Negro spirituals and was the first black actor of the 20th century to portray Shakespeare's Othello on Broadway.[3]

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson was an American tap dancer and actor of stage and film. Audiences enjoyed his understated style, which eschewed the frenetic manner of the jitterbug in favor of cool and reserve; rarely did he use his upper body, relying instead on busy, inventive feet and an expressive face.
A figure in both the Black and White entertainment worlds of his era he is best known today for his dancing with Shirley Temple in a series of films during the 1930s.

Movies in MRC featuring Bill Robinson

The Little Colonel (1935) DVD 6039

Littlest Rebel (1937) DVD 6038; vhs 999:1359

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1937) DVD X3085

Just Around the Corner (1938) DVD 6029

Stormy Weather (1943) DVD 4795

Robinson is also featured in the following compilations of musical shorts:

Ethel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.

Williams was an African American actor and filmmaker. He was best known for playing Andy in the Amos 'n Andy television show and for the directing the 1941 race film The Blood of Jesus. Williams was a pioneer African-American film producer and director.

Directed by John Landis. Cast: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, John Amos, Madge Sinclair, Shari Headley. Murphy plays a very wealthy and pampered African prince who comes to America in search of a bride. Accompanied by his closest companion, Murphy quickly finds a job, new friends, new digs, new enemies--and lots of trouble. 116 min. DVD 7106

Dugga, Victor S. "Africa from the American Lens: A Comparative View of the Films Sheena and Coming to America."
SORAC Journal of African Studies: Society of Research on African Cultures, vol. 1, pp. 107-15, Apr 2000

Olaniyan, Tejumola. "'Uplift the Race!' Coming to America, Do the Right Thing, and the Poetics of 'Othering'." Cultural-Critique, 1996 Fall, 34, 91-113.

Goodbye Solo (2008)

Directed by Ramin Bahrani. Cast: Souléymane Sy Savané, Red West, Diana Franco Galindo, Lane 'Roc' Williams, Mamadou Lam, Carmen Leyva.
On the lonely roads of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, two men forge an improbable friendship that will change both of their lives forever. Solo is a Senegalese cab driver working to provide a better life for his young family. William is a tough Southern good ol' boy with a lifetime of regrets. Solo's American dream is just beginning, while William's is quickly winding down. Despite their differences, both men soon realize they need each other more than either is willing to admit. 91 min. DVD X7226

Directed by Mort Blumenstock. Cast: Tom Howard, Joe Lyons, Edward Gargan. "In the early twentieth century, many American carnivals and fun fairs featured an "African Dodger". This was a Negro (usually genuine, sometimes a white man in blackface) who would stick his head through a hole and taunt the suckers, who paid a nickel for the privilege of throwing baseballs at the African Dodger. The dodger would (usually) pull his head out of the hole in time to avoid getting hit, but sometimes he wasn't fast enough. African Dodgers were so commonplace that some sadistic people would bring a hard (wooden or iron) ball into any carnival that came to town, knowing they'd have a chance to throw it at a black man's head and cause him serious injury." In this film comedian Tom Howard plays a man on a carnival midway who gets suckered into substituting for the African Dodger.
91 min. DVD X2036; vhs 999:2637

Directed by Busby Berkeley. Cast: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Charles Winninger, Guy Kibbee, June Preisser, Grace Hayes, Betty Jaynes, Douglas McPhail. Based on the play "Babes In Arms" by Rodgers and Hart. Learning that his parents are in financial straits, the son of a famous vaudeville team rounds up all the stage kids and puts on a lavish show to raise money. Features the music number "Daddy Was A Minstrel Man."
91 min. DVD 8479; vhs 999:1848

Directed by Busby Berkeley. Cast: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Fay Bainter, Virginia Weidler, Ray McDonald, Richard Quine, Donald Meek, Alexander Woollcott.
One of the famous old musicals that combines captivating music and lavish production numbers by the master, Busby Berkeley. The story is the standard tale of two struggling Broadway hopefuls, and is filled with 16 song and dance numbers. Features a blackface number with Rooney and Garland, "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee". 118 min. DVD 8479

Directed by Spike Lee. Cast: Damon Wayans, Savion Glover, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Tommy Davidson, Michael Rapaport. In a searing parody of American television, this film presents a humorous look at how race, ratings and the pursuit of power lead to a network executive's stunning rise and tragic downfall. 136 min. DVD 739; vhs 999:3211

Directed by D.W. Griffith. Cast: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Mary Alden, Ralph Lewis, George Seigmann, Walter Long. Adapted from Thomas Dixon's novel, The Clansman. A Civil War spectacular, Portraying "life in the South" during and after the Civil War as revealed in a story depicting the war itself, the conflict between the defeated Southerners and emancipated renegade Negroes, the despoiling of the South during the carpetbagger period, and the revival of the Southern white man's honor through the efforts of the Ku Klux Klan. 124 min. DVD 3012; DVD 29;

Directed by Melville W. Brown. Cast: Freeman Gosden, Charles J. Correll, Sue Carol, Irene Rich. Cab drivers Amos 'n' Andy (characters from the radio show Amos 'n' Andy) contract to transport Duke Ellington and his band out to Blair estate, where they meet Richard Williams who is in love with Jean Blair. Richard must find the deed to his family property before he can marry Jean. Meanwhile, Amos 'n' Andy, after spending the night in a haunted house, find the deed. Notable as the only motion picture produced staring the radio comedy team, Amos n' Andy. 85 min. DVD X4918; vhs 999:793

Directed by Mark Sandrich. Cast: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale, Walter Abel. A song-and-dance man leaves show business and opens up a Connecticut inn with his former partner and is saved from financial disaster by the showmanship of old friends. For entertainment at the Inn, Bing proposes a Lincoln's Birthday tribute in blackface (featuring Bing Crosby and Marjorie Reynolds).
100 min. DVD 679

Directed by Alan Crosland. Cast: Al Jolson, May McAvoy, Warner Oland, William Demarest, Eugenie Besserer, Otto Lederer, Josef Rosenblatt. A melodramatic story of a Jewish cantor's son (Al Jolson) who aspires to be a jazz singer despite his father's objection and religious tradition. In motion picture history, this marks the first feature film to utilize synchronous sound. Jolson's songs include "Toot, toot, tootsie", "Blue skies", and "Mammy". 89 min. DVD 8594; vhs 999:790

"Since its premiere in 1927, many jazz critcs have overlooked The Jazz Singer, America's pioneer talking picture, in the history of American jazz film. Despite its title, the talkie's account of Old World vs. New World tension and Jewish assimilation has little to do with the jazz sound made famous by such artists as Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton. Yet as crtic Krin Gabbard argues, the film's appropriation of the title jazz reflects the cultural understanding of "jazz" during the American Jazz Age. In the 1920s, jazz, referring in general to up-tempo music, represented the emotional release and freedom of a generation striving to break established social conventions. While African American contributions to jazz were largely overlooked in the rise of Paul Whiteman and Al jolson's fame, blackface minstrelsy of the age represented white Americans attempt to ventriloquize blacks associated with supposed freedom of Negro primitivisim. Using jazz to represent Raboniwitz's break from Old World tradition and featuring a finale in blackface minstrelsy, The Jazz Singer (as Gabbard argues) lays the foundation for cultural representations of jazz in American cinema." [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ASI/musi212/brandi/jazz.html]

Directed by Alfred E. Green. Cast: Larry Parks, Evelyn Keyes, William Demarest, Bill Goodwin.
A musical extravaganza biopic telling the story of the meteoric singing/performing career of Asa Yoelson, a talented cantor's son determined to make it big in the "biz". After changing his name to Al Jolson, he captivated audiences everywhere with his minstrel and jazz performances. 130 min. DVD 9907

Directed by David Butler. Cast: Shirley Temple, John Boles, Bill Robinson, Steppin Fetchit. Civil War saga set in the Old South. A case study in 30's and 40's Hollywoods fondness for mammies, Toms, and happy, childlike colored folk. Features an astonishing sequence in which Shirley dons blackface to escape from Union soldiers. DVD 6038; vhs 999:1359

Advertising executive Roger Sterling serenades his new wife in blackface their first gathering as a newly-wedded couple. DVD X2852

Mammy (1930)

Directed by Michael Curtiz. Cast: Al Jolson, Lois Moran, Lowell Sherman, Louise Dresser.
As the star of Meadow's Merry Minstrels, Al Fuller (Jolson) lands a backer for the show, springboarding the troupe to success, but when a jealous co-star puts real bullets in Fuller's stage gun, Al finds himself charged with attempted murder. Based on the play and music Mr. Bones by Irving Berlin. 88 min. DVD X3050

Directed by Lars Von Trier. Cast: JBryce Dallas Howard, Isaach De Bankhole, Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, Lauren Bacall, Chloe Sevigny.
A young girl traveling across 1930's America with her father, discovers a plantation that doesn't know that slavery has been abolished. Can this well-meaning girl and her lawyer father change the minds and hearts of the plantation owners? In one scene Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) makes the former plantation owners serve the former slaves while wearing black face."
139 min. DVD 7479

Directed by Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline. Keaton and his attractive neighbor pass love notes through holes in a fence because of their disapproving families. But even once the couple gets together, their union and upcoming marriage cause even more problems. Keaton swings from clotheslines by his toes, wiggles with his head in the ground like a human carrot, and has a hilarious inability to keep his pants up. The Neighbors also features racial attitudes that are beyond troubling. Like a number of Keaton productions, the hero ends up in black face, only this time he escapes in time to wash his face, leading to the arrest of an innocent African-American passing by. When Keaton is caught again and again ends up in black-face, he somehow manages to clean half his face and enters into a routine of being half-white (dignified and controlled) and half-black (he dances a jig). 18 min. DVD 293

Directed by Frank Tuttle; featuring Eddie Cantor, Ruth Etting, Gloria Stuart, Edward Arnold, David Manners. In this musical comedy a wistful young man from Oklahoma daydreams his way back to ancient Rome in its hey-day where he finds himself a spokesperson for the downtrodden Roman people, suffering under the tyrannical rule of the cruel and sneering Emperor Valerius. Features the character actor Billy Barty (a little person) in blackface as a "shrunken" Eddie Cantor. 92 min. vhs 999:2237

Sarah wagers that it's easier to be a black person in America than a Jewish person, and attempts to prove it by becoming "black" for a day with the help of a makeup artist. She embarks on an odyssey in which she becomes the beloved and persecuted leader of a unique racial justice movement. Brian and Steve grievously miscalculate the potency of medical marijuana. DVD X3162

Show Boat (1936)

Directed by James Whale. Cast: Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger, Paul Robeson, Helen Morgan, Helen Westley. A musical which celebrates the loves and heartbreaks of a Mississippi riverboat troupe, starting with a young girl whose heart is stolen by a dashing gambler. When Julie LaVerne (Helen Morgan) is forced to leave the show boat, Magnolia Hawks (Irenne Dunne) replaces Julie as the show boat's female star. Magnolia sings one of her numbers in blackface and is briefly seen applying the burnt-cork. 110 min. vhs 999:3206

Directed by Ben Stiller. Cast: Ben Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., Jack Black, Steve Coogan, Nick Nolte, Danny McBride, Brandon T. Jackson, Jay Baruchel. While filming an action movie in the jungle, death and hilarity ensue as the lead actors believe the murderous heroin-producing gang they encounter is a part of the script. A spoof on action/adventure films. In the movie, Robert Downey, Jr. plays an Oscar-winning actor named Kirk Lazarus whose character in the war movie
being made was written as black. So Lazarus decides to play the character as written. 107 min. DVD X840

Directed by Michael Curtiz. Cast: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Ellen, Dean Jagger. Lyrics and music by Irving Berlin. Two song-and-dance men team up in show business after the war. Joining forces with a sister act, they trek to Vermont for a white Christmas. The real adventure starts when Crosby and Kaye discover that the inn is run by their old army general who's now in financial trouble. Includes a minstrel Number (without blackface, but with all the other trappings): "I'd Rather See a Minstrel Show"/"Mister Bones"/"Mandy" (Crosby, Kaye, Clooney,& Chorus)120 min. DVD 6757

Directed by Thornton Freeland. Cast: Eddie Cantor, Ethel Shutta, Paul Gregory, Eleanor Hunt, John Rutherford, Spencer Charters. A musical sparked by Cantor's performance as a hyper-hypochondriac. Out West, Henry Williams (Cantor) helps Sally flee her wedding, unaware that she has left a note behind saying they've eloped. Features some of Busby Berkeley's most fanciful choreography. "As it facilitates intermarriage in The Jazz Singer, so blackface brings Whoopee!'s Indian and white lovers together. Henry, helping Sally escape her wedding to Sheriff Bob, hides in an oven. When the stove is lit, he explodes out in blackface. Like Whiteman's lion, Jolson's mammy, and the prototypical, exaggerated blackface mouth, the oven associates blackface with primitive orality. The disguise fools Sheriff Bob and encourages Sally to confess her love for Wanenis. Promoting anarchic violence against the forces of law and order, blackface also facilitates intermarriage in the low plot. Cantor sings "My Baby Just Cares for Me" in blackface and sings it again sans cork to Nurse Custer to end the film. Transforming Jew from frightened melancholic into trickster, blackface shifts the meaning of "cares for" from nursing to sex. When Sheriff Bob tries to wipe Henry clean, he leaves him with what look like Orthodox Jewish earlocks and beard." [Rogin, Michael. "Making America Home: Racial Masquerade and Ethnic Assimilation in the Transition to Talking Pictures." The Journal of American History. Dec 1992. Vol. 79, Iss. 3;93 min. 999:3734

Directed by Ranald MacDougall. Cast: Harry Belafonte, Inger Stevens, Mel Ferrer. A coal miner is trapped by a cave in. When he finally finds his way back to the surface, he discovers most of the human race has been killed off by nuclear poison. He and the few remaining remnants of humanity must choose to either learn from the mistakes of the past or resort to the old failed methods and divisive issues. 95 min. DVD X6062

Larrieux, Stephanie. "The World, the Flesh, and the Devil: The Politics of Race, Gender, and Power in Post-Apocalyptic Hollywood Cinema." Quarterly Review of Film & Video, Mar2010, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p133-143, 11p UC users only

Included in the collections below are the Warner Brothers "Censored 11"-- a group of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons that were withheld from syndication by United Artists in 1968. United Artists owned the distribution rights to the Associated Artists Productions library at that time, and decided to pull these eleven cartoons from broadcast because they are based on racist depictions of African Americans and are deemed too offensive for contemporary audiences. The cartoons are: Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land (DVD 2440); Sunday Go to Meetin' Time (DVD 2443); Clean Pastures (DVD 9356); Uncle Tom's Bungalow (DVD 9357); Jungle Jitters (DVD 2444); The Isle of Pingo Pongo (DVD 9356); All This and Rabbit Stew (DVD 2444); Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (DVD 2441); Tin Pan Alley Cats (DVD 2443); Angel Puss (DVD 9357); and Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears (DVD 2441)
[Wikipedia]

The Old house: Classic haunted house adventure with Bosko, Bruno (dog) and his honey, Honey. Bosko's Easter eggs: Bruno breaks the eggs Bosko wuz deliverin ta Honey. Bosko and the pirates: Boskos' imagination ends him up on a frog pirate ship where the pirate frogs try ta git Boskos' cookies. Captain Frog makes Bosko walk the plank...or...that is rather...tap dance the plank. Bosko and the cannibals: Boskos' imagination puts him in a jungle full of cannibal cookie eating frogs that try to get his cookies. Bosko in Bagdad: "Who dat" sequence gets Bosko a flying carpet that whisks him and the genie Frog to Bagdad. The Bagdad frogs tempt Bosko with tap dancing, watermellons and castor oil to get his cookies. Bosko the Doughboy: Pre-MGM Bosko. Bosko is bored with the war until the enemy shoots Boskos' photo of Honey. Then he goes into action with violent results. Old anything: Bosko builds a building with the help of some Mickey Mouse clones. During the construction there are detached heads, ears, stomachs, etc. 60 min. 999:2141

Black Anthology Cartoons. Vol. 3 (1934-1946)

Contents: Scrub me Mama with a boogie beat (1941, 7 min.) -- John Henry and the Inky Poo (1945, 8 min.) -- Jasper in a jam (1946, 7 min.) -- Rasslin' match (1934, 11 min.) -- The lion tamer (1934, 9 min.) -- The early worm gets the bird (1940, 8 min.) -- The little broadcast (1943, 8 min.). Includes puppetoons by George Pal, two features staring Amos n' Andy, Charlie Barnet and his orchestra and vocals by Peggy Lee. Scrub me Mama with a boogie beat: Lazy Town is the sexiest, most racist and foot-stompinist laundry mat in the country. John Henry and the Inky Poo: Puppetoon by George Pal. The steel drivin man John Henry shows...if you have a mind, you can do anything. Jasper in a Jam: Great jazz music video with Little Jasper caught in a pawnshop at midnight. Features Charlie Barnet and Orchestra with vocals by Peggy Lee. Rasslin' match: The 1st of only two Amos 'n' Andy cartoons. Since Taxi servicing is slow King-Pin gets Andy into a rasslin match. Amos seems to be in more pain than Andy watching Andy get hurt. Lion tamer: The 2nd of only two Amos 'n' Andy cartoons. Kingpin gets Andy a job as a lion tamer for a local circus. The deal wuz the lion wuz supposed to be two guys in a lion suit... Early worm gets the bird: Three little "Black Birds" are sent to bed by "Mammy Black Bird," but one wants to get the worm early and gets more than he expected. Little broadcast: A George Pal puppetoon where the Great Maestro gets to conduct more than he can compose himself to. 60 min. 999:2142

Vol. 2: The early worm gets the bird (1940) -- September in the rain (1937) -- Jungle Jitters (1938) -- The Isle of Pingo Pongo (1938) -- Life begins for Andy Panda (1939) -- Africa squeaks (1940) -- All this and rabbit stew (1941) -- Have you got any castles (1938) -- Goofy groceries (1941) -- Scrub me Mama with a boogie beat (1941) -- Clean pastures (1937) -- Goldilocks and the jivin' bears (1944) A collection of animated films from the 1930s and 1940s which feature caricatures and stereotypes of blacks. In September in the rain much of the cartoon features characters in blackface in a satire of then-contemporary culture including Al Jolson, Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong. The Isle of Pingo Pongo is a parody of 1930s travelogues full of black stereotypes and swinging "jungle music." In Africa squeaks Porky Pig, Spencer Tracy, Kay Kaiser and Jerry Colonna are swinging with the natives in "Darkest Africa." In Clean pastures Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, The Mills Brothers and others are caricatured doing their part to take swing music out of the hands of the devil and use it to save souls with the magic of jazz and boogie-woogie. DVD 9356

Vol. 3: Little black Sambo (1935) -- Uncle Tom and Little Eva (1932) -- Fresh hare (1942) -- Sunday go to meetin' time (1936) -- Uncle Tom's bungalow (1937) -- Angel puss (944) -- Confederate honey (1940) -- Little ol' Bosko and the cannibals (1937) -- Pop-pie a la mode (1945) -- Voodoo in Harlem (1938) -- Tin Pan Alley cats (1943).
A collection of animated films from the 1930s and 1940s which feature caricatures and stereotypes of blacks. In Fresh hare Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny do a minstrel show, complete with black-face. Sunday go to meetin' time features excellent gospel and jazz music mixed with black stereotypes. Uncle Tom's bunglow is a spoof of the book Uncle Tom's Cabin. Confederate honey is a parody of "Gone with the Wind," with Elmer Fudd playing Ned Cutler (Rhett Butler in the real movie). Little ol' Bosko and the cannibals features a frog that sounds like Louis Armstrong, plus other frog caricatures of famous black musicians like Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson portrayed as cannibals! In Pop-Pie al la mode, Popeye is shipwrecked on an island inhabited by cannibals who view him as their next meal! DVD 9357

Vol. 4: Jasper and the haunted house (1942) -- Bosko shipwrecked (1931) -- The stupidstitious cat (1947) -- Suddenly it's Spring (1944) -- Porky's ant (1941) -- The lost dream (1949) -- Outdoor indore (1928) -- Flop goes the weasel (1934) -- Robinson Crusoe Jr. (1941) -- Talking magpies (1946) -- Swiss cheese family Robinson (1947) -- Ali-Baba bound (1940)
A collection of animated films from the 1930s and 1940s which feature caricatures and stereotypes of blacks. The stupidstitious cat is a parody of the famous "Jack Benny Program" with a black crow playing the part of "Rochester" (who was black and played a stereotypical black role on the Jack Benny Program.) In Outdoor indore Felix joins the circus and travels to India. Flop goes the weasel features a very black stereotype of "Mammy" portrayed by a large hen giving birth to a baby chick. Robinson Crusoe Jr. stars Porky Pig against African natives. The talking magpies is the first screen appearance of cartoon characters Heckle and Jeckle. Swiss Cheese family Robinson features Mighty Mouse who saves a mouse family from jungle cannibals. In Ali-Baba bound Porky Pig battles extremist Muslims; one has a bomb on his head in place of a turban.

Cartoons from the 1930s and 1940s showing the pervasiveness of racial and ethnic stereotypes. In addition to cartoons, the video includes sing-alongs, intermission trailers and an animated preview of Snow White. Contents: "Any Bonds Today?" (sung by Bugs Bunny)--"Let's Sing with Popeye": Excerpts from the first Popeye cartoon and Popeye sings 'I'm Popeye the sailor man.' -- "Plane Dumb" (Tom and Jerry)-- "Porky's Hare Hunt" -- Trailer for "Snow White" --"Minnie's Yoo Hoo" (sung by Mickey Mouse): Sing-a-long to the lyrics on the screen as Mickey Mouse directs the Mickey Mouse Club theme song. --"Little Black Sambo": Little Sambo plays pranks with a dog striped like a tiger. -- "Porky's pooch": A hungry mutt barges into Porky Pig's suite. His wit and charm fail to move Porky so he threatens to jump off the ledge, tricking Porky into taking him in. -- "Joe Glow the firefly": A firefly with a miner's lighted helmet explores a camper's tent and the various people-sized items that, from his perspective, are gigantic. -- "Porky's movie mystery": In this parody of the "Mr. Moto" series, a mysterious phantom is causing trouble at the Warner Bros Studios. The police call in Mr. Motto (Porky Pig) to investigate. -- "The Lone Stranger and Porky": When Porky is held up by a villain the Lone Stranger comes to his rescue and in the middle of the fight, the Stranger's horse Silver falls in love with the villains' horse. -- Intermission public service announcement against pay and cable TV plus six ads for popcorn and candy in the lobby -- "Japoteurs": Early animated Superman episode involving the hijacking of a giant American bomber by Japanese saboteurs. -- "John Henry": A cartoon version of the tale of John Henry, the great steel-driving worker who competes with a steam drill. -- "Congo jazz" --"I'll be glad when you're dead you rascal you" (Betty Boop with Louis Armstrong and his orchestra) -- "Snap Happy" (Little Lulu)-- "Jungle jive" (pianist, Bob Zurke). 999:2143

Written and directed by Ralph Bakshi. This outrageous, original film about the status of blacks in America is told with live-action and animation vignettes, the best of which are sly parodies of the stories from Disney and Uncle Remus' Song of the South and Kim Basinger's Cool World. This allegorical tale follows the exploits of a black rabbit who comes from the rural South to New York and ends up dealing drugs in Harlem. Released in 1974, it was accused of being racist and withdrawn by its distributor within a week of its release. 90 min. 999:2144

Presents historical commentary and excerpts from a cross section of cartoons, once seen as harmless, but now perceived as racist stereotypes. Rare footage includes "Chinese Laundry Blues" (poking fun at both Chinese and Jews), George Pal's "John Henry," the incredibly racist "Pickaninny Blues," complete with shuffling Negroes being sold on the auction block, as well as Walter Lantz's "Scrub me, mama, with a boogie beat," Bosco, Amos n' Andy, Little Black Sambo as well as American propaganda cartoons from World War II. Consists primarily of excerpts from films originally issued between 1930-1950. DVD 2440

John Henry and Inky Poo(1946)

In this George Pal Puppetoon (production number U5-6), John Henry (voice of Rex Ingram), legendary figure of American folklore, goes to work for the C.& O. Railroad, which, shortly thereafter, buys an automatic steel-driving engine, called the Inky-Poo. John Henry matches his strength against the Inky-Poo, saying that any man can beat a machine because a man has a mind. John Henry wins, but drops at the finish, never to rise again. The choral music background is by the Luvenia Nash Singers. DVD 2440; vhs 999:2142

Jasper recovers a valuable horn, blows a few licks of "Flight of the Bumble Bee" and becomes a star. DVD 2441

Jasper and the Beanstalk(1945)

The Scarecrow trades Jasper a handful of beans for his harmonica. Jasper plants the beans and climbs up the resulting beanstalk and, at the top, finds a beautiful girl in a golden cage playing a golden harp. Jasper rescues her from the Scarecrow, brings her down the beanstalk, and spends the rest of his days dancing to the music his girlfriend plays on the harp. DVD 2441

Jasper and the Haunted House(1942)

Jasper gets tricked by shady characters. He ends up in a nasty haunted house! Jasper gets scared out of a pie by Professor Scarecrow. DVD 2441; also on DVD 8769

Jasper in a Jam(1946)

Great jazz music video with Little Jasper caught in a pawnshop at midnight. Features Charlie Barnet and Orchestra with vocals by Peggy Lee. Video/C 999:2142

Collection of rare and obscure cartoons with a jazz oriented theme (which means lots of characters with big lips and natural riddem). Includes several of George Pal's hard to find "Jasper" Puppetoons, "Tin Pan Alleycats" (a fave with its Salvador Dali style landscapes) and Tom & Jerry with that black maid you never see anymore. DVD 2441

The Princess and the Frog (Walt Disney Pictures, 2009)

Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker. AVoices: Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jennifer Cody, Jim Cummings, Peter Bartlett, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, John Goodman. A musical retelling of the fairy tale set in Jazz Age-era New Orleans. Arrogant, carefree Prince Naveen and hardworking waitress Tiana cross paths. Prince Naveen is transformed into a frog by a conniving voodoo magician. Tiana follows suit when she decides to kiss the amphibian royalty. With the help of a trumpet-playing alligator, a Cajun firefly, and an old blind lady who lives in a boat in a tree, Naveen and Tiana must race to break the spell and fulfill their dreams. 98 min. DVD X2885

Watch Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other Warner Bros. cartoon characters poke fun at racial minorities in this ultra-rare collection of racist cartoons that will never be seen on TV. 91 min. DVD 2443

Romeo in Rhythm(1940)

Directed by Rudolf Ising. "...this is a subdued, one might even say sweet, tribute to black music and culture. A sort of animated CARMEN JONES, if you like. While the principal players being caricatured as crows might bring howls of "racism" now, one can easily forgive such a practice in this cartoon--indeed, it seems perfectly logical. One would expect crows, if they could talk, sing and dance, to put on a show such as this." [Home For Orphan Toons ] Included on DVD 8479

Uncle Tom's Bungalow [animated cartoon]

Directed by Tex Avery, 1937. Topsy and Little Eva buy Uncle Tom from Simon Legree's Used Slave Co., but can't keep up the payments. Topsy and Eva do a color switch under Legree's whip as Eliza saves the day. 999:2140

Directed by Bud Pollard. Cast: Louis Jordan, Frank Wilson, Emory Richardson, Valerie Black, Milton Woods, Joseph Hilliard, Tommy Hix, Charles Johnson, John Grant, Walter Earle, Ernest Calloway, Dimples Daniels, Aristo-Genes Girls Club, Tympnay Five. Ware College is about to close its doors forever because its endowment has run dry. A last minute appeal to famous alumni brings the college's plight to the attention of Louis Jordan. Jordan, known as King of the Jukebox, set things right by hounding the good-for-nothing grandson of Ware College's founder into spending his fortune on education rather than fast living. 54 min. DVD X4193

Contents: Music hath harms / Cast: Spencer Williams, Roberta Hyson, Curtis Mosby's Dixieland Blue Blowers -- The melancholy dame / Cast: Evelyn Preer, Spencer Williams, Roberta Hyson -- Framing of the shrew / Cast: Evelyn Preer, Edward Thompson -- Oft in the silly night / Cast: Spencer Williams, Roberta Hyson. These groundbreaking comedies, the brainchild of pioneer director, Al Christie, are from the first series of talking pictures written and conceived for black performers, rare shorts from 1929. With the advent of sound, Christie decided to produce a series of all black cast comedy-musical shorts adapted from Octavus Roy Cohen's "Darktown Birmingham" stories. To cast his comedies, he chose from the talent of the famous Lafayette Players Stock Company of Harlem. 75 min. vhs 999:1770

The Black King (Harlem Hot Shot) (1932)

Directed by Bud Pollard. Cast: A.B. Comathiers, Vivianne Baker, Knolly Mitchell, Dan Michaels, Mary Jane Watkins, Harry Gray, Mike Jackson, Lorenzo Tucker, Trixie Smith. this film is one of the earliest films to focus on "The Back to Africa" movement. Made by an independent white-owned company, this film was billed as a satire on the life of Marcus Garvey. 70 min. DVD X29; vhs Video 999:929

History of the motion picture made by Black film makers between 1900 and 1950, including scenes from these films. Emphasizes the attempt by Black film makers to provide alternatives to the lack of sensitivity and racism of Hollywood films by portraying Blacks realistically. 52 min. DVD X1409; vhs Video/C 1063

The Blood of Jesus (1941)

Directed by Spencer Williams. Cast: Spencer Williams, Cathryn Caviness, Heavenly Choir, Juanita Riley, James B. Jones, Frank H. McClennan, Eddue DeBuse, Rogenia Goldthwaite, Reather Hardeman, Alva Fuller. Concerns the accidental shooting of a woman and of the faith in Jesus that brings her back. As she lies dying, her soul goes on a symbolic journey in which it rejects Hell for Zion, Satan for God, at the foot of the cross. When she awakens recovered, the choir of sisters and brothers from the church come in to sing and celebrate the miracle. Offers a glimpse into Southern Baptist life from an African-American perspective. 68 min. DVD X1638; vhs 999:928

Directed by Oscar Micheaux. Cast: Paul Robeson, Julie Theresa Russell, Marshall Rogers, Chester A. Alexander, Walter Comick, Mercedes Gilbert.
Paul Robeson stars in this early silent film of a minister gone corrupt. He associates with the owner of a house of gambling, forces a girl to steal and later kills the girl's brother. But, when all is said and done it's only a dream. 80 min. DVD 7281; vhs 999:534

Directed by Roman Freulich. Cast: Clarence Muse. A widowed farmer with a sick young son prays for his son's recovery. A ray of sunlight accompanied by spiritual music signifies that his pleas won't go unanswered. A film produced by blacks for a black audience. 17 min. vhs 999:2592

Directed by Bernard B. Ray. Cast: Clarence Muse, Sybil Lewis, William Washington, Tommiwitta Moore, Stymie Beard, Pete Webster, Edward Thompson, Buck Woods, Jess Lee Brooks, Earl Morris. An all African American melodrama concerning a classical violinist who injures his fingers. His son tries to earn the needed cash to restore his father's paralyzed hand by following in his father's footsteps as a violinist but to his father's displeasure, he prefers swing to classical music. 60 min. DVD X5323

Directed by Richard C. Kahn. Cast: Herbert Jeffrey, Lucius Brooks, Artie Young, F.E. Miller, Spencer Williams, Jr., Clarence Brooks. Bob Blake and his boys arrive at Joe Jackson's ranch to find him missing. While Slim cheats Dusty out of his money using ventriloquism and marked cards, Blake tries to find Jackson. Learning that Thorne and his gang are holding him prisoner, he and his men trail them. When Thorne's gang gets the drop on them, Slim puts his ventriloquism to work. Filmed with an all Black cast and crew. 56 min. DVD X1638; also DVD 4995; vhs 999:2211

Showcasing the great jazz singer Cab Calloway in a variety of formats and environments, this splended compilation of "soundies" and clips from the 1947 feature film Hi-De-Ho is testament to the master showman's talent. Contents: Hi-de-ho -- Foo a little boogaloo -- I was here when you left me -- We the cats shall help ya -- Minnie the moocher -- One for my baby -- I can't give you anything but love -- St. James Infirmary -- Calloway boogie -- How to do the razz-ma-tazz -- Long about midnight -- Call of the jitterbug -- Blowtop blues -- Blues in the night -- Skunk song -- Virginia, Georgia and Caroline. 102 min. DVD X2455

Dark Manhattan (1937)

Directed by Harry Fraser. Cast: Ralph Cooper, Cleo Herndon, Clarence Brooks, Jess Lee Brooks, Sam McDaniels, Corny Anderson, Rubeline Glover, James Adamson. On the tough back streets of Harlem, thugs and crooks fight for control of the numbers racket. One small time hood, 'Curly' Thorpe, is enlisted by the biggest mob boss in town. Larry B. Lee, to be his protege. Curly takes over the operation, bringing a new level of brutality and greed to Lennox Avenue. Beautiful women, fast cars and hard cash are all that Curly cares about, but he steps on the wrong toes to get them. Tougher men than Curly now want him dead. 70 min. DVD X4393

Directed by Spencer Williams. Cast: Francine Everette, Don Wilson, "Piano" Frank, Old Hager, Spencer Williams, John King, July Jones. In this all black cast feature, Gertie LaRue and her troupe of performers arrive direct from Harlem at the Paradise Hotel on the island of Trinidad. They are there to do a show at the Diamond Palace, a club owned by Diamond Joe, who falls for Gertie. Gertie has left Harlem in a hurry and cannot go back there because she has jilted her boyfriend, Al, who is now looking for revenge. 60 min. DVD X4950; vhs 999:1222

Directed by Arthur Dreifuss. Cast: Monte Hawley, Jeni Le Gon, Edward Thompson, Florence O'Brien, Shelton Brooks, F.E. Miller. Rivals for a pretty singer get mixed up in gangster trouble. One of the beaus is a crook who robs a jewelry store and frames the other boyfriend. The girl sorts the truth out for herself. 60 min. DVD X4191; vhs 999:1224

Directed by William L. Nolte. "Duke Davis (Ralph Cooper) has invested all his savings to back his sweetheart, Ethel (Lena Horne), in a road show over the old T.O.B.A. circuit, on which they have both been performers since childhood. Marshall (Monte Hawley), a New York talent scout, makes an offer to Ethel as a single and, to induce her to take it, Duke writes a fake check, made out to him, for $5000 pretending he has sold his contract with Ethel to Marshall. Resentful and heartbroken, she accepts and becomes a big hit in New York. Marshall then books her at the swanky Century Club, plans her show himself, and it flops miserably. Meanwhile, Duke has used his last resources to start a new show, but without Ethel it also fails. He joins the Doc Dorando (Lawrence Criner) medicine show, and with him as the speiler for the quack elixir sold by Dorando, it is successful. He becomes Doc's partner with an elaborate trailer and a company of entertainers, including Willie Covans, the Basin Street Boys, The Cats and the Fiddle, "Rubberneck" Holmes and Joe Stevenson. Money is rolling in but he drops everything to hurry to Ethel's side when he hears of her misfortune. Ella (Neva Peoples), Ethel's faithful companion and maid, has also told Ethel of Duke's sacrifice in order to give her a chance in New York. Duke talks the Century Club owner, Fenton (Edward Thompson),into allowing him to build an elaborate show based on a medicine show concept, and sends for Doc Dorando and the other entertainers." [Internet Movie Database] 80 min. DVD X29; vhs 999:1168

One of Oscar Micheaux's most famous films. Starring Carl Mahon as Alonzo Smith, a young secret service agent, who falls in love with a school teacher, Norma, in a small Mississippi town. Later in New York, Alonzo has to save Norma's friend Mary from the numbers racket and is accused of murder. 69 min. DVD X1639; vhs 999:927

Directed by Spencer Williams. Cast: Geraldine Brock, July Jones, Spencer Williams, Mamie Fisher, Celeste Allen, Buzz Ayecock. A Texas girl moves to New York to make it as a singer, but runs into trouble with a man who offers to be her agent. Meanwhile her boyfriend arrives from Texas to win her back. A film produced by blacks for black audiences. 63 min. DVD 7457; also DVD X1639; vhs 999:2595

Directed by Spencer Williams. Cast: Myra D. Hemmings, Samuel H. James, Eddye L. Houston, Spencer Williams, Ames Droughan, Walter McMillion. Based on a poem of the same title by James Weldon Johnson. Director, Spencer Williams. A minister's reputation is in question as he wavers between heaven and hell. 50 min. DVD X4312; also DVD X1638; DVD 1589; also on VHS Video 999:1166

Director, Spencer Williams. Cast: Spencer Williams, July Jones, Inez Newell, Leonard Duncan, Dauphine Moore, Melody Duncan, Katherine Moore, Tilford Patterson, Albert Smith, Howard Galloway, Clifford Beamon, Frances McHugh, Don Gilbert, Mac and Ace, Kit and Kert, The Jitterbug Johnnies, Duncan's Beauty Show Girls. Two slick talking traveling "thespians" seek a room at the home of Mama Holiday and become embroiled in her family's affairs. Mama is at odds with her dreamer husband & glamour-seeking daughters, one of whom is propositioned by the owner of the local juke joint. To gain Mama's favor, the men use their persuasive skills to keep the daughter from leaving town with her suitor. 70 min. DVD X1638

Directed by Josh Binney. Cast: Dusty Fletcher, George Wiltshire, Butterfly McQueen, Nellie Hill, Freddie Robinson, William Campbell, Edgar Martin, Sid Easton, Gus Smith, Jackie Mabley, Ken Renard. The story of a magician who does disappearing acts between stage performances of a variety program. This musical includes performances by Dusty Fletcher, the King Cole Trio, Jackie "Moms" Mabley, Andy Kirk and his orchestra. Considered one of the best early comedies starring an all-black cast. 70 min. DVD X4917; vhs 999:1220

A classic melodrama from famed director Oscar Micheaux, stars Edna Mae Harris as a nightclub singer who is unjustly convicted and sent to prison for the murder of her aunt. Co-produced by the distinguished black aviator, Colonel Hubert Julian. 60 min.. DVD X1639; vhs 999:931

Recounts the story of race movies produced for Afro-Americans from the 1920s through 1950 and the role played by Oscar Micheaux, the leading Afro-American producer and director. These movies were designed for Afro-Americans and were frequently shown at midnight. They presented Afro-Americans in a positive light. Featuring interviews with Afro-American actors and actresses, and historians. 58 min. Video/C 3614

Directed by George Randol. Cast: Frances Redd, John Criner, Richard Bates, Ollie Ann Robinson, Clinton Rosemond, Buck Woods. Mr. Wilson who owns Texas land with oil on it is murdered and the deeds to the oil land stolen. Two "bumbling" detectives, Junior and Lightfoot, investigate the murder by the "Midnight Shadow," seeking to clear their friend of murder. A film produced by blacks for black audiences. 54 min. vhs 999:2594

Directed by Jack Saindlin. Cast: Hilda Offay, Sheila Guyse, William Greaves, Kenneth Freeman, Stepin Fetchit, Savannah Churchill. A sweet old woman who runs a candy manufacturing business out of her home with the help of her niece and a young divinity student, is swindled out of her business by a big businessman and his son, who has connections with the underworld. Two murders follow in this suspenseful film that also has touches of humor. A film produced by blacks for black audiences. 80 min. DVD X4916; 999:2630

Directed by George P. Quigley. Cast: Nelle Hill, George Oliver, Bill Dillard, Ken Renard, Noble Sissle, performances by Skippy Williams Band, Alston & Young. Louis the piano player is murdered by a knife-throwing killer in the middle of a show at Bill Smith's nightclub. Suspicion immediately falls on Mike, an excaped convict, mainly due to stories being phoned into the city desk by nosy reporter Hal Ford. Hal has more than news on his mind, though - he has his eye on the club's main attraction, Lola. The sexy singer is also Mike's girl when he's not in jail. When Mike and Lola are mistaken for club owner Bill Smith and his wife, Hal sees an oportunity to put his rival away for good. 59 min. DVD X4191

Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. Cast: Bud Harris, Cora Green, Izinetta Wilcox, Carl Gough, Slim Thompson. An unusual musical melodrama with an all-black cast about Harlem widow Minnie who marries "Dollar" Bill, a shady gambler who is after her money and her attractive daughter, Sue. Sue is in love with Bob, an idealist who decides to organize the community against local racketeers and does not realize that his would-be father-in-law Dollar Bill is one of them. Film features 20 chorus girls, a choir, a rare appearance by jazz legend Sidney Bechet and a 60-piece symphony orchestra under the direction of Donald Heywood. 67 min. DVD X4323; also DVD 4080; DVD X4192; vhs 999:930

A portrait of independent African-American filmmaking in the Southern region of the United States prior to World War II ... an incredible body of truly independent filmmaking made under the most hostile set of circumstances, including racial prejudice, unimaginably low budgets, and crude technical conditions. The film clips shown here, which are a mirror of the Black experience from the 1920s through mid-1950's, focus on the innovative works of film makers Spencer Williams, Oscar Micheaux, Eloyse Gist, and Clarence Muse. Special features: "Includes 2 bonus short films (an extra 107 min.): "The Blood of Jesus and "Go down, death" ; scene access. 55, 107 min. 2000. DVD 1589

Murder in Harlem (1935)

Directed by Oscar Micheaux. Cast: Clarence Brooks, Dorothy Van Engle, Laura Bowman, Andrew Bishop, Alec Lovejoy, Bee Freeman. A young woman is murdered at the National Chemical Labs and the nightwatchman is arrested. Then the scene shifts back three years to a man who fell in love with a woman but was unable to express his true feelings. Now he is a lawyer and the woman he loved is the sister of the nightwatchman who is on trial for murder. Together, they find the real murderer and fall in love again. 95 min. DVD X4870; vhs 999:2462

Directed by Arthur Hoerl. Cast: Monte Hawley, Marguerite Whitten, Tommie Moore, The Four Toppers, Ceepee Johnson & his Orchestra. Debonair crooner Prince Ellis strides across the stage like royalty at his Harlem nightclub, where he's the focus of everyone's attention. Men envy him and women want to be with him, especially young Linda Carroll, who ignores repeated warnings to steer clear of the singer's seductive allure. Linda's father, John, strongly disapproves of Prince Ellis' unwholesome attention to his virginal daughter. When Ellis is gunned down, John is the obvious suspect, but it turns out many people wanted the star dead for their own reasons. 64 min. DVD X4392; vhs 999:2462

Oscar Micheaux is remembered for his work as a pioneer producer-director whose films offered a positive image and an alternative for African Americans in the 1920s and 1930s. The program is built around the on-camera reminiscences of two performers who appeared in Micheaux films: Bee Freeman, and Lorenzo Tucker. Also included are dramatic reenactments of Micheaux directing and touring the country to sell his films. Dramatic sequences: Danny Glover (as Micheaux). c1981. 28 min. Video/C 8264

Paradise in Harlem (1939)

Performer: Frank Wilson, Mamie Smith, Edna Mae Harris, Lucky Millinder and his orchestra, Juanita Hall Singers. Black comic Lem Anderson does minstrel comedy on the vaudeville circuit, but dreams of becoming a serious stage actor. When he witnesses a mob hit, he is forced to leave town. He heads down south to find work, but he is plagued by personal demons and a drinking habit. Just as all seems lost, he is called back to New York to star in Shakespeare's play Othello, but when the mobsters learn he has returned, they resolve to silence him for good. 82 min. DVD X4376; vhs 999:1216

Explores the involvement of black filmmakers in filmmaking, from its earliest days through the 1920s with particular emphasis on the work of James Weldon Johnson, Oscar Micheaux, and Richard D. Maurice. Focus is on the movies that were made and the production companies that produced them. 1985. 20 min. Video/C 8293

Eight odd-ball mini-musicals produced in the early years of sound film production. Cary Grant makes his film debut as a sailor cruising the Far East. Louis Armstrong dons outlandish leopard-skin attire to stand knee-deep in soap bubbles. A manic Eddie Cantor undergoes a balmy medical exam while in another film a medical check-up by Dr. Rudy Vallee and nurse Mae Questel finds musical deficiencies to be the root of all ills. Also on tap, Ethel Merman shows the sweeter and more vulnerable side of her brassy personality. Contents: A Rhapsody in Black and Blue (1932) / Louis Armstrong -- Singapore Sue (1931) / Anna Chang, Cary Grant -- Insurance (1930) / Eddie Cantor -- All for the Band (1930) / Eddie Younger and his Mountaineers -- Moonlight and Romance (1930) / Rosita Moreno and Nino Martini -- Be like me (1931) / Ethel Merman -- Old Man Blues (1931) / Ethel Merman -- Musical Doctor (1932) / Rudy Vallee, Mae Questel. 999:1693

Scar of Shame (1927)

Directed by Frank Peregini. The Colored Players Film Co. produced films during the 1920's, the golden years of silent films. "The prime achievement of the Colored Players was this film, shot with a sure feeling for editing and composition the film compares with the best Hollywood product of its time. The film's story examines caste and class within the black community telling of a love affair between a music student of good social standing and the daughter of a working-class drunkard. "Made by Hollywood technicians, The Scar of Shame is nevertheless the product of black consciousness, examining as it does caste and class within the black community. The 'hero' is a light-skinned, refined music student of good social standing who, very much against his better judment, falls in love and marries the dark sensual daughter of a working-class drunkard. Expressing profound and probably unconscious reservations about the possibility of black success while limiting that success to that black who is like the white in values and appearance..." -- excerpt from AFI program notes by Stephen Zito. Approx. 90 min. DVD 643; Video/C 591; VHS 999:1023

Cripps, Thomas. "Race Movies as Voices of the Black Bourgeoisie: The Scar of Shame." In: Representing Blackness: Issues in Film and Video / edited with an introduction by Valerie Smith. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, c1997. Rutgers depth of field series (Main Stack PN1995.9.N4.R47 1997; Moffitt PN1995.9.N4.R47 1997)

Directed by Arthur H. Leonard Cast: Sheila Guyse, Billy Daniel, Tondaleyo, Freddie Bartholomew, Dick Watson and Brown Doc's, John Kirty's Band, Leonardo and Zola, Apocs & Estrellita, Welter Fuller's Orchestra. In this all black cast musical romance a poor dancer must compete with a rich lady for the man she loves. The man, a famous singer, leaves his beloved to pursue his career and the high life. Eventually he discovers there is more to life than a place in society and returns to his singer/girlfriend. 70 min. DVD X4950; 999:1218

Directed by Henri Etievant, Mario Nalpas. Cast: Josephine Baker, Pierre Batcheff, Georges Melchior, Regina Dalthy. Papitou is a free-spirited, animal-loving native girl who falls in love with Andre, a sophisticated young man who has been sent to the Parisian Antilles as a prospector. She is unaware that he is betrothed to another, or that his work assignment is actually a perilous ruse concocted by his scheming boss. As the truth becomes known, Papitou finds herself pursuing Andre back to Paris. 87 min. DVD 4050

This tribute celebrates African American silver screen legends. Included are interviews and rare footage documenting the kinds of roles black actors were first given, the challenges these performers met, and the real behind-the-scenes story of their acceptance and triumphs in Hollywood. Includes special mention of Darryl Zanuck who was the first to open major roles to African American actors. Performers: Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Nicholas Brothers, Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, James Earl Jones, Gregory Hines, Hatti McDaniel, Duke Ellington, Ink Spots, Sidney Poitier, Stepin' Fetchit, Harry Belafonte, Ethel Waters, Darryl Zanuck. c1997. 60 min. DVD X2961; Video/C 8208

Song of Freedom (1936)

Directed by J. Elder Wills. Cast: Paul Robeson, Elizabeth Welch, Robert Adams, Orlando Martins, James Solomon, Toto Ware. Robeson portrays a successful concert singer in England who discovers he is the descendant of a West African queen whose tribe is now in need of a leader. He returns to the home of his ancestors; the island of Casanga off the coast of Africa. However, following his arrival conflict erupts over his claim to royalty. 80 min. DVD 176; vhs 999:1226

Directed by Powell Lindsay. Cast: William Greaves, Jimmy Wright, Emory Richardson, Billie Allen, Savannah Churchill, Powell Lindsay. A musician from Alabama moves into a small Harlem flat with a gambler and an unemployed writer. The musician works his way into a successful job, but the gambler gets killed. The writer is then hired to write about the the gambler's life and life in Harlem. A film produced by blacks for a black audience. 65 min. DVD X4390; vhs 999:2593

Directed by Harry L. Fraser. Cast: Joe Louis, Edna Mae Harris, Mantan Moreland, Mae Turner, Clarence Muse, The Big Apple Dancers.
World heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis stars in Spirit of Youth. Often mistakenly referred to as a biography of Louis, the film is actually the fictional story of aspiring boxer Joe Thomas, who hopes to make millions in the ring. He does, but as a consequence falls into the hands of a predatory nightclub singer. Only after the femme fatale stomps on Joe's heart does he return to his virginal childhood sweetheart. Initially aimed at the "all-colored" theaters of the era, The Spirit of Youth proved popular enough to receive bookings in white movie houses. 66 min. DVD X29

Directed by Oscar Micheaux. Cast: Cora Green, Hazel Diaz, Carmen Newsome, Dorothy Van Engle, Alec Lovejoy, Larry Seymour, Mandy Randolph. A musical with plot built around the music which is performed from Alabama to New York (Harlem). Ted Gregory is trying to become the first black producer to mount a show on Broadway but his star singer is getting in the way. When the singer breaks her leg in an accident, a wardrobe girl for Gregory steps up to fill in for the injured star. 78 min. DVD X4323; vhs 999:369

Directed by Oscar Micheaux. Cast: Laurence Chenault, A.B. Comathiere, Laura Bowman, Willor Lee Guilford, Tressie Mitchell.
A mystery-musical built around a threatening note which gives the heroine only "ten minutes to live." The heroine sings and dances in a Harlem nightclub. Much nightclub business as the mystery unravels with song and dance numbers and a stand up comedy routine. A fine example of the film-making efforts from the pioneer African-American directors and production companies of the 1930's, who made films that were typically excluded from mainstream movie houses due to the prevailing attitudes of the time. 65 min. DVD X47; DVD X4916; vhs 999:1217

Showcases the groundbreaking work of African American talent during the early years of Black cinema. Footage is from the 1920s through the 1950s. Dedicated to those performers whose talents have transcended the ages; Paul Robeson, one of the first stars of independent Black cinema; Oscar Micheaux, who made nearly 50 independent movies; Black film director Spencer Williams Jr. is also highlighted.
2002. 217 min. DVD X6585

Explores the Black underground film industry featuring footage from the 1920s through the 1950s. Features respected western actor Bill Pickett, who starred in the firest Black western, "The bull dogger" in 1921. Also represented is Herbert Jeffries, also know as The Bronze Buckaroo and the first cinematic Black cowboy star. 2002. 144 min. DVD X6585

Intriguing view of the underground Black film industry in the early 1900s. Featuring footage from the 1920s through the 1950s. Offers a priceless collection of unique performances by Black legends. 2002. 189 min. DVD X6585

That's Black Entertainment, Part I: Race Movies: The Early History of Black Cinema with Three Original Short Films

The first film, Race movies, explores the involvement of black filmmakers in filmmaking from its earliest days through the 1920s, with particular emphasis on the work of James Weldon Johnson, Oscar Micheaux, and Richard D. Maurice. Focus is on the movies that were made and production companies that produced them, including the Lincoln Motion Picture Company of Los Angeles, Micheaux Pictures Corporation and the Norman Film Manufacturing Company. Concludes with three shorts that were shown in movie houses prior to feature presentations. Contents: Race movies: the popular art of the Black Renaissance (1985, 20 min.) -- "St Louis blues" starring Bessie Smith (1929, ca. 15 min.) -- "Hi-de-ho" starring Cab Calloway (1935, ca. 10 min.) -- "Boogie-woogie Dream" starring Lena Horne (1941, ca. 13 min.). 59 min. Video/C 4837

That's Black Entertainment, Part II: The Soundies Era: Black music videos from the 1940's

Directed by Oscar Micheaux. Cast: Bee Freeman, Sol Johnson, Ethel Moses, Oscar Polk, Lorenzo Tucker. Paul Bronson lusts after the decadent world of nightclubs and casinos. His strongest desires are reserved for the dangerously voluptuous Dinah Jackson, but this beautiful temptress is really the 'property' of mob boss LeRoy Giles. When jealous LeRoy gets wind of Dinah's cheating, he cuts off her money and kicks her out. An angry Dinah has LeRoy shot, and suspicion falls on Paul. Dinah is Paul's only alibi--and his only hope of avoiding a long walk down death row. Adapted from a story "Chicago after midnight," by Edna Mae Baker. 80 min. DVD X4393; vhs 999:2461

Directed by Howard Bretherton. Host: Richard Roundtree. Cast: Frankie Darro, Marjorie Reynolds, Mantan Moreland. A radio singer is murdered while singing on the air in a radio studio. Radio page boy, Frankie Ryan, and his janitor pal, Jeff, solve the mystery for the none-too-sharp police. 61 min. DVD 4995

Directed by Oscar Micheaux. Cast: Laura Bowman, Lorenzo Tucker, Barrington Guy, Lawrence Chenault, Walter Fleming, Lucile Lewis, Carl Mahon, Bernadine Mason. John Warwick, a light-skinned black who has passed for white and has become a lawyer, returns to his home town after a 20 year absence to be reunited with his mother Molly and sister Rena. Frank, a dark skinned man has proposed marriage to Rena, but Molly sends her daughter away with her son to also pass for white but Rena eventually renounces trying to pass for white and is reunited with Frank. While the film deals with the serious issue of class and color-awareness among African-Americans, it also includes some thoroughly smashing musical interludes and tap dancing routines. Based on the novel The house behind the cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt. Includes short subject: Mr. Adam's bomb (1949, 21 min.) starring Eddie Green. 45 min. DVD X5766; 999:2463

Directed by Bernard Vorhaus. Original story and screenplay by Langston Hughes and Clarence Muse. Cast: Bobby Breen, Clarence Muse, Alan Mowbray, Ralph Morgan, Steffi Duna, Sally Blane, Matthew "Stymie" Beard, Edwin Maxwell, Charles Middleton, Robert Greig, Hall Johnson choir. Pre-Civil War Louisiana is the setting as young Tim Reid (Breen) tries to get his family's plantation back from a group of treacherous trustees. Breen teems up with a Cajun innkeeper to foil the villain and sing some songs. Co-written by Clarence Muse with African-American poet Langston Hughes, who were also responsible for writing the songs, this is one of the first films produced and written by African Americans. 61 min. DVD 5090

Cripps, Thomas. "Langston Hughes and the Movies: The Case of Way Down South." In: Montage of a dream : the art and life of Langston Hughes / edited by John Edgar Tidwell and Cheryl R
Columbia : University of Missouri Press, c2007.
(Full-text available online [UC Berkeley users only]; Print: Main (Gardner) Stacks PS3515.U274 Z6845 2007)

Directed by Spencer Williams. Cast: Hugh Martin, Georgia Kelly, Emmet Jackson. Variant title: A young man, Young Rodney Tucker Jr. is leading an aimless life. His out-spoken grandfather Samuel Tucker, a decorated army veteran, thinks the military would do the boy good, but Rodney wants nothing to do with wearing a uniform. Uncle Sam has his own ideas, and a surprising piece of mail arrives, 'inviting' Rodney to visit his local draft board. Boot camp rubs Rodney the wrong way and he soon goes AWOL. But if Grandpa Tucker has anything to say about it, Rodney will make something out of himself yet. 83 min. DVD X4392; vhs 999:2591

Directed by Oscar Micheaux. Cast: Evelyn Preer, Flo Clements, James D. Ruffin, Jack Chenault, William Smith, Charles D. Lucas. The earliest surviving feature directed by an African-American, Within our Gates tells the story of a young African-American woman who seeks a Northern white patron for a Southern school for Black children. The scenes of lynching and attempted white-on-Black rape may be a response to D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation". 79 min. DVD 643; VHS 999:1019

Directed by Marc Allégret. Cast: Josephine Baker, Jean Gabin, Yvette Lebon. When the star of a musical plays walks out on her sugardaddy producer for true love, a talented Cinderella (Baker) takes her place, saves the show, and is hailed as a new sensation on opening night. Includes five big musical numbers. 92 min. DVD 4106; vhs 999:415

Directed by William Girdler. Cast: William Marshall, Terry Carter, Austin Stoker, Carol Speed.
A possession film about a marriage counselor who becomes possessed by a demon of sexuality, when her father in law, an exorcist, freed it while in Africa. He returns home, along with his son and a policeman to perform an African exorcism on her. 92 min. DVD X2237

Afros, Macks, 'n Zodiacs. Vol. 1: A Compilation of Some of the Best Black Action Films of the 1970's

Features clips and trailer attractions from black action motion pictures that were filmed and released in the 1970s. "You'll see Foxy Brown and Cleopatra Jones-- two chicks with guts. And what about that bad-ass Fred "The Hammer" Williams, shotful of lead and he still ain't dead! You'll visit The Mack Superfly and Blacula--these brothers have drive and don't take no jive! So turn on your black light, sit back and dig this compilation of Black action!" Films reviewed: Blacula, Monkey Hustle, The Mack, Dr. Black & Mr. Hyde, Dolemite, Cleopatra Jones, Foxy Brown, Ebony ivory and jade, Black belt Jones, Shaft, Super dude, Cotton comes to Harlem, Trouble man, Super fly, Lets do it again, Which way is up?, Black Caeser, Hell up in Harlem, Cool breeze, The human tornado, Disco godfather, Sheba Baby, Black mama white mama, Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold, Scream Blacula scream, soul to soul, That man Bolt, The soul of Nigger Charlie, Across 110th street, The big bird cage, Book of numbers, Trick baby, Truck Turner and more. 91 min. Video/C 6028

Afro Promo: Black Cinema Trailers 1946-76

Alternately trashy and poignant and sometimes just plain hard to believe these days, here's an irresistible program of black cinema trailers that trace its evolution through its most crucial period, 1946-1976. Explores an extensive range of stylistic approaches -- blaxploitation, comedy, music bio, plantation drama, and more -- all smartly organized by genre, or viewable as one outrageous joyride through mid-century picture history. 91 min. DVD 5084

BaadAssss Cinema: A Bold Look at 70's Blaxploitation Films

In this groundbreaking documentary from the Independent Film channel, filmmaker Isaac Julien takes us back to the early 70s and the explosion of blaxploitation films, today one of American cinema's most beloved cult genres. Featuring a wealth of footage from classic films and interviews with key players the film thoroughly explores blaxploitation films from their breakout casting and unforgettable soundtracks to the outrageous fashions and over-the-top story lines. 2002. 56 min. DVD 1561

Badass Supermama

A playful, but questioning personal exploration of beauty as perceived by a black women, looking at race, gender, sexuality, body image and representation. These inter-connected issues are examined through 1970's "blaxploitation" movie goddess Pam Grier and her characters, with clips from her films Foxy Brown and Sheba, baby. A video by Etang Inyang. 1996. 16 min. Video/C 7266

Blackenstein (1973)

Directed by William A. Levey. Cast: John Hart, Ivory Stone, Andrea King, Liz Renay, Roosevelt Jackson.
Eddie is a Vietnam veteran who loses his arms and legs when he steps on a land mine, but a brilliant surgeon is able to attach new limbs. Unfortunately an insanely jealous assistant (who has fallen in love with Eddie's fiance) switches Eddie's DNA injections, transforming him into a gigantic killer. 87 min. DVD X2286

Directed by William Crain. Cast: William Marshall, Denise Nicholas, Vonetta Mcgee, Gordon Pinsent, Thalmus Rasulala, Emily Yancy, Lance Taylor, Sr., Charles Macaulay. In 1815 the African prince Mamuwalde is cursed by Dracula and sealed in a coffin doomed to be tortured by an unquenchable lust for blood. Two decoratorspurchase Blacula's coffin and unwittingly release him and become his first victims. 93 min. DVD 2346

Directed by Eddie Romero. Cast: Pam Grier, Margaret Markov, Sid Haig, Lynn Borden, Zaldy Zschornack, Laurie Burton. Two extradited female prisoners in a Philippine jungle prison, prostitute Lee Daniels and guerrilla fighter Karen Brent, will do anything to escape. Their chance comes during a transport on which they are shackled together. After killing a guard they are on the run for their lives, igniting a bloody shoot out between gangsters and a group of revolutionaries. 86 min. DVD 486

Directed by Jack Hill. Cast: Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert Doqui, William Elliott, Allan Arbus, Sid Haig. Coffy (Pam Grier) is a nurse turned avenger, becoming a one-woman, anti-drug vigilante who roots out the dealers who "turned on" her 11-year-old sister. This violent, sexy drama is a variation on urban vigilante flicks, where family members fight crime more effectively than the cops, and in much more provocative ways. 91 min. DVD 5429; vhs 999:1869

Directed by J. Robert Wagoner. Cast: Rudy Ray Moore, Carol Speed, Jimmy Lynch.
Rudy Ray Moore is Tucker Williams, the rapping owner of the Blueberry Hill disco. An ex-cop with a penchant for head-whacking martial arts, Tucker is called into action when his nephew gets hooked on angel dust. With the help of his "Gal Friday" Noel, Tucker declares war on Stinger Ray, the nation's leading angel dust producer. But as the war progresses, Tucker learns that Stinger and his goons are as deadly as the drugs they push. 93 min. DVD 4589

Directed by William Crain. Cast: Bernie Casey, Rosalind Cash, Marie O'Henry, Ji-Tu Cumbuka, Milt Kogan, Stu Gillam. Dr. Henry Pride, a black man, is involved in research at a large hospital to find a cure for cirrhosis of the liver. In his lab alone at night Dr. Pride injects a brown rat with his latest serum and is astonished to see the color pigmentation drain and the rat turn white. Even its nature changes as it attacks and kills the other rats in the cage. Pride continues to perfect the serum and later, injects an old black woman near death from a liver ailment. She turns a ghastly white, her face becomes grotesque, and with superhuman strength, attacks a nurse then collapses and dies. Dr. Pride, certain he has now perfected the serum, injects it into himself. As he watches in the mirror, a hideous transformation takes place. 88 min. DVD X5459; vhs 999:1756

Directed by Oscar Williams. Cast: Clarice Taylor, Leonard Jackson, Virginia Capers.. In the Brooks family, Papa may rule with an iron fist ... but Mama's about to slap him down. Tired of being told what to do and when to do it, she goes to war! Swapping her old housedress for army-green duds and combing her tidily coiffed head into a ceiling-scraping 'fro, she takes to the roof on strike. 96 min. DVD 3710

Directed by Bill Gunn. Cast: Duane Jones, Marlene Clark, John Hoffmeister, Enrico Fales, Mabel King.
A black anthropologist is studying the ancient culture of Myrthia which disappeared when it was destroyed by a transmittable amoebic parasite that was addicted to blood. In the course of his research, he is stabbed with a Myrthian dagger by his assistant, who then kills himself. When Hess wakes up, he finds that his wounds have healed, but he now has an insatiable thirst for blood. Special features: Audio commentary by the filmmakers; Restored footage; Featurette "The blood of the thing" on the history of the production; Featurette examining selected sequences in detail; Animated photo gallery. 113 min. DVD X2287

Directed by Bob Kelljan. Cast:Cast: William Marshall, Don Mitchell, Pam Grier, Michael Conrad, Bernie Hamilton, Richard Lawson.
Mamuwalde, a distinguished African prince, was bitten--and renamed Blacula--by Count Dracula in the 18th century. His current incarnation among jive-talking West Coast dudes and their ladies is not greatly to his taste. Despite the many pleasures of modernity, his only real interest is to get himself back where and when he came from. To this end, he enlists the aid of Lisa, a voodoo priestess of high repute to liberate him from his curse. 96 min. DVD X2285

Director, John Singleton. Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Richard Roundtree, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Bale, Busta Rhymes, Dan Hedaya. To stop a racist killer Shaft's got to track down the only eyewitness that can put him behind bars. As Shaft closes in, so does the danger. Armed with attitude and up against corrupt cops and venomous druglords he's out to make crime pay up. 99 min. DVD 428

Directed by John Guillermin. Cast: Richard Roundtree, Vonetta McGee, Frank Finlay, Neda Arneric, Debebe Eshetu.
Detective John Shaft is persuaded by diplomats at the United Nations to track down a slave-trading operation. He travels undercover from Africa to France to catch a ring exploiting illegal immigrant labor. This is the third film in the Shaft series. 112 min. DVD 9664

Directed by William Girdler. Pam Grier, Austin Stoker, D'Urville Martin, Rudy Challenger, Dick Merrifield, Christopher Joy, Charles Kissinger, Charles Broaddus. Private eye, Sheba Shayne, is called on to help keep her father from losing his business to the mob. 91 min. DVD 5430

Directed by Gordon Parks, Jr. Cast: Ron O'Neal, Carl Lee, Sheila Frazier, Julius Harris, Charles MacGregor, Nate Adams, Polly Niles. Tale of a Harlem drug dealer, Priest, who wants out of cocaine-dealing but a drug kingpin does not want Priest to stop. He sets up one last big drug deal before he retires, but is thwarted by double-crossers, murder and revenge. 93 min. DVD 4648

Directed by Melvyn Van Peebles. Cast: Melvin van Peebles, Simon Chuckster, Hubert Scales, Niva Rochelle, Rhetta Hughes, Brer Soul, John Dullaghan.
Presents the story of a professional sex-show stud who kills two white policeman who are beating up a black youth. Presents the story of a professional sex-show stud who kills two white policemen who are beating up a black youth. Directed by Melvin Van Peebles. 97 min. DVD 4081; vhs 999:523

Directed by Rusty Cundieff. Cast: Corbin Bernsen, Rosalind Cash, Rusty Cundieff, David Alan Grier, Anthony Griffith, Wings Hauser, Paula Jai Parker, Joe Torry, Clarence Williams III.
Stack, Ball and Bulldog arrive at a local funeral parlor to retrieve a lost drug stash held by the mortician Mr. Simms. But Mr. Simms has other plans for the boys. He leads them on a tour of his establishment, introducing them to his corpses. Even the dead have tales to tell, and Mr. Simms is willing to tell them all. And you'd better listen--because when you're in his 'hood, even everyday life can lead to extraordinary terror. 98 min. DVD X7208

Director, Malcolm D. Lee. Cast: Eddie Griffin, Chris Kattan, Denise Richards, Dave Chappelle, Aunjanue Ellis, Chi McBride, Neil Patrick Harris, Jack Noseworthy, Bille Dee Williams. Undercover Brother uses gadgets and disguises to steal from the rich and give to the poor. His activities are discovered by the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., a spy organization devoted to subverting The Man and his henchman, Mr. Feather, who use their power over the media to demean black people and destroy racial unity. The spy organization is run by The Chief. When a popular black political figure calls a press conference, presumably to announce his presidential candidacy, he instead announces that he's opening a chain of fried chicken restaurants. The agency rightly suspects foul play. 86 min. DVD 1804

Directed by Jeff Pollack. Cast: Duane Martin, Leon, Tupac Shakur, Marlon Wayans. Kyle Lee Watson is an inner-city high school basketball star torn between college and the lure of the streets. During an important championship play-off game, Kyle grandstands to catch the attention of a Georgetown college scout. Instead, he impresses Birdie, a powerful gang leader who is assembling a team to compete in the neighborhood Shoot-Out contest, a high-stakes street basketball tournament for the bragging rights of the city. 97 min. DVD 5715

Directed by Kevin Bray. Cast: Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Eva Mendes, Tommy Flanagan. A bounty hunter chases a bail jumper to an abandoned warehouse that just happens to be the exchange place for a major diamond heist. Now the would-be adversaries need to cooperate to foil the diamond thieves. 98 min. DVD 5698

Director, Lisa France. Cast: Carlos Leon, Eric Smith, Jackie Quinones, Sherri Saum, Geronimo Frias, Jr., Antonio Macia, Ja Nice Richardson, Ernie Hudson. When Cynthia's father hands her a copy of "The diary of Anne Frank" before dying, she never imagined how it would help to open her soul. Trapped within her own prison, in this coming of age story of a young female rapper, Cynthia finds the courage to stand up and fight for what is hers. 90 min. DVD 5627

Written, directed and produced by Haile Gerima. Cast: John Anderson, Evelyn A. Blackwell, Norman Blalock, Kathy Flewellen, Uwezo Flewellen, Barry Wiggins. The story of the pained psyche of a black Vietnam veteran, Ned Charles who returns to Los Angeles after his hitch is up. Anderson can't adjust to civilian life and soon becomes involved in minor crimes. The film explores his troubled relations with his grandmother who tries to help him come to terms with life and also with his activist girlfriend and her friends. 120 min. DVD X5700; vhs 999:2733

Directed by Isaac Julien. Cast: Thomas Baptiste, Cleo Sylvestre, John Wilson.
This film presents the inner fantasies of an older black married attendant at a museum, who is obsessed by images of his homosexual desires. In his fantasies, the paintings on the walls of his museums, including Francois Biard's Scene on the Coast of Africa, are transformed into very erotic images of men being bound and whipped. 8 min. c1993. DVD 9610

Directed by John Singleton. Cast: Tyrese Gibson, Omar Gooding, A.J. Johnson, Taraji P. Henson, Snoop Dogg, Tamara LeSeon Bass, Ving Rhames, Candy Ann Brown, Angell Conwell. In South Central L.A., Jody has two babies by two different women and he still lives at home with his mom. He's trying to live large, but doesn't have or want a job. Growing up is tough on Jody, but a series of events involving his mom, her new boyfriend, his girlfriend, and her ex-con ex-boyfriend all force him to learn some hard lessons about living, loving and surviving. 130 min. DVD 911

Directed by Spike Lee. Cast: Damon Wayans, Savion Glover, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Tommy Davidson, Michael Rapaport. In a searing parody of American television, this film presents a humorous look at how race, ratings and the pursuit of power lead to a network executive's stunning rise and tragic downfall. 136 min. DVD 739; vhs 999:3211

Director, Robert Townsend. Cast: Halle Berry, Martin Landau, Ian Richardson, Natalie Desselle. Nesi and Mickey are two waitresses at a crossroads. Underpaid and unappreciated, they dream of owning a combination restaurant/hair salon. There's a problem: they're broke. So when the chance to audition as dance girls for a music video pops up, the girls head to L.A. They fail to get the part, but Nesi lands in the most improbable role of all, impersonating the granddaughter of an ailing billionaires long-lost love for $10,000 and full use of his Beverly Hills estate. 90 min. DVD 4208

Director, Tim Story. Cast: Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve, Troy Garity, Michael Ealy, Leonard Earl Howze, Keith David, Lahmard Tate, Cedric the Entertainer. Calvin never wanted to take over the family business, a barbershop on the south side of Chicago. One morning he decides to sell the shop to Lester. Calvin spends the day cutting heads at the shop, and starts to understand the importance of the legacy left to him. Calvin learns to appreciate his barber friends, and discovers that the place where they work is more than just a place to get a haircut. Calvin gradually changes his mind about selling the shop, but it may be too late. 102 min. DVD 1521

Director, Stan Lathan. Cast: Rae Dawn Chong, Guy Davis, Robert Taylor, Jon Chardiet, Sandra Santiago ; cameo appearances by Us Girls, The Treacherous Three, The System, Rock Steady Crew, Soul Sonic Force & Shango, The Magnificent Force, New York City Breakers, Furious Five, Tina B., Afrika Bambaataa, Johnny B. Bad, and others. A ghetto-derived musical film which delves into the hip-hop culture of New York's streets to uncover the despairs, dreams, and triumphs of the emerging 80s generation. Before the backdrop of wild rhythms and whirling bodies lies a tableau of young aspiring artists, striving to turn their fever into fame through hip-hop, graffiti art and break dancing. The break battle scene is the highlight of the film when gangs fight eachother with dancing, not guns. 106 min. DVD X5590; vhs 999:3171

Directed by James Toback. Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Brooke Shields, Mike Tyson. When Rich Bower decides to reinvent himself as a hip-hop impresario after a life of crime, he is confronted by the internecine dealings of the white world. Documentary filmmaker Sam Donager and her husband enter the scene as they follow a group of privileged uptown teenagers who are drawn to the hip-hop lifestyle. 99 min. DVD 5701

Directed by Ernest Dickerson. Cast: Snoop Dogg, Pam Grier, Khalil Kain, Ricky Harris, Clifton Powell, Bianca Lawson, Michael T. Weiss. A notorious street hustler is mistakenly brought back from the dead after some kids buy the house he was killed in over 20 years before. Now he is seeking revenge on those who murdered him. With each new victim, the terror mounts, and Bones' vengeance spins out of control, threatening everyone in his path, including his former lover, Pearl. Special features: Filmmaker commentary - Snoop Dogg, director Ernest Dickerson and screenwriter Adam Simon; original documentaries: "Diggin up bones" and "Urban gothic: bones and its influences"; deleted scenes with optional director commentary; music video "Dog named Snoop"--Standard and live versions; theatrical trailer; theatrical press kit. 97 min. DVD X2280

Directed by John Singleton. For three young men growing up in South Central Los Angeles, the "hood" is a place of drive-by shootings, unemployment, drugs and pain. But their reactions to the world around them vary- one is an unambitious drug dealer, his brother is a college bound teenage father, and the brother's best friend is guided by a strong father who hopes for a better life for his son. 112 min. DVD 182

Directed by Haile Gerima. Cast: Barbara O., Johnny Weathers, Susan Williams. A powerful drama of a black woman living on welfare in the Los Angeles Watts ghetto, trying to care for her daughter after being stranded alone by her man's imprisonment for a crime he didn't commit. 98 min. DVD X4975

Directed by Spike Lee. Cast: Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, Mekhi Phifer, Isaiah Washington, Delroy Lindo, David Keith, Pee Wee Love, Regina Taylor. Two brothers grow up together in the same Brooklyn housing projects, but they are as opposite as good and evil. Victor Dunham has a family, works two jobs and leads a respectable life. His 19-year-old brother, Strike, hangs out with his friends on a bench and sells crack cocaine. Strike agrees to kill a rival dealer as a favor to Rodney, the neighborhood drug kingpin, but when the man is murdered, it is Victor who confesses. Detective Rocco Kleine won't buy Victor's confession, and begins to attempt to break down the stories of both brothers in order to save Victor. 129 min. DVD 562

Directed by Michael Schultz. Cast: Glynn Turman, Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, Garrett Morris, Cynthia Davis. Fun-loving and warm movie about high school life in the 1960's. Preach, a serious-minded writer and Cochise, a basketball hero headed for college, are best friends at Cooley High in Chicago. Together, they cut classes to go to the zoo, crash parties, put the hustle on some hustlers, and dream of getting out of their impoverished, rough neighborhood. 107 min. DVD 8955; vhs Video 999:1174

Directed by Dale Resteghini. Cast: Stacii Jae Johnson, Dale Resteghini, Eminem, Pras, Killah Priest, Spliff Star, Mobb Deep, Rock, Vanilla Ice, La the Darkman. Focuses on a supposed witch that is terrorizing popular hip hop singers. An ambitious journalist tries to learn the story behind the witch. At the same time five white kids venture out of the suburbs and into the inner city to expose the witch as a publicity stunt created to sell records. 94 min. DVD X6440; vhs 999:2813

Directed by Doris Wade. Cast: Stanley McKnight, Monea Shepard, CeCe Waterman, Flora Gillard, Elmeria Scales, Charles Harris, Debra Ann Byrd. A realistic film capturing typical everyday life situations that minorities have to deal with living in urban areas known as "the projects." Coco, a high school student sexually harassed by her step-father, leaves home in search of comfort from her brother, while her boyfriend is constantly made fun of in school and in the neighborhood. Debra and Flora are two nosy ladies from the projects of Harlem, who miss nothing and always know the latest gossip. 80 min. vhs 999:2264

Daughters of the Dust (1991)

Directed by Julie Dash. Tells the story of a large African-American family as they prepare to move North at the dawn of the 20th century. Explores the unique culture of the Gullah people. 113 min. DVD 168; Video 999:887

Directors, Allen & Albert Hughes. Cast: Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, N'Bushe Wright, Freddy Rodriguez, Bokeem Woodbine. On the streets, they call cash dead presidents. And that's just what a Vietnam veteran is after when he returns home from the war, only to find himself drawn into a life of crime. With the aid of his fellow vets he plans the ultimate heist - a daring robbery of an armored car filled with unmarked U.S. currency. 119 min. DVD 1069

Directed by James Bond III. Cast: Kadeem Hardison, Melba Moore, Bill Nunn, Samuel L. Jackson. Joel, a divinity student, finds himself in conflict with his calling. Needing to get away from his overprotective grandmother and southern hometown, he heads for New York City to visit his childhood friend "K". Once in New York, he meets the "Temptress," a seductive succubus who lures men to bed and kills them. "K" and Dougy, an undercover cop who has been tracking the woman for months, try to destroy the Temptress. But they both eventually fall prey to her curse leaving Joel alone to face destiny. 100 min. DVD 1150

Directed by Gary Hardwick. Cast: LL Cool J, Gabrielle Union, Duane Martin, Essence Atkins, Robinne Lee, Meagan Good, Mel Jackson, Dartanyan Edmonds, Dorian Gregory.
Eva is a very uptight young woman who constantly meddles in the affairs of her sisters and their husbands. Her in-laws, who are tired of Eva interfering in their lives, decide to set her up with someone so she can leave them alone. They end up paying Ray, the local "playboy," $5,000 to date her. The plan goes by smoothly, but troubles comes when Ray actually falls in love with Eva. Special features: Behind-the-scenes featurette; director's commentary; LL Cool J's "Paradise" music video; K-Ci and JoJo's "This very moment" music video. 105 min. DVD 8322

Directed by Darren Grant. Cast: Kimberly Elise, Steve Harris, Shemar Moore, Tamara Taylor, Lisa Marcos, Tiffany Evans, Cicely Tyson, Tyler Perry. Helen McCarter would seem to have it all. She's married to Charles who is one of Atlanta's most successful attorneys. But despite having wealth and prestige, things are not as they seem in the McCarter home. On the evening of their anniversary, Charles drops a bombshell on Helen - he's divorcing her for another woman. Thrown out of the house with nowhere to go, Helen moves in with her grandmother Madea, a sassy woman with no shortage of opinions and a gun that she's not afraid to use. As Madea helps Helen get back on her feet emotionally, she meets Orlando, a nice and handsome man who is obviously attracted to her. But after her experiences with Charles, Helen isn't sure if she's ready to trust a man again. 117 min. DVD 4084

Through in-depth interviews, behind the scenes footage and clips from his films, Spike Lee talks about the ideas, influences, motivations, struggles and successes behind his work. "I have been blessed with the opportunity to express the views of black people who otherwise don't have access to power and the media. I have to take advantage of that while I am still bankable." 1997. 60 min. Video/C 7090

Director, Anthony Harvey. Cast: Al Freeman, Shirley Knight, Frank Lieberman, Robert Calvert, Howard Bennett. A film adaptation of the play of the same name by Le Roi Jones (Amiri Baraka). Deals with a white woman enticing, then humiliating and finally knifing a black man while they ride a subway train in New York City. 55 min. Video/C 2538

Drumline (2002)

Directed by Charles Stone III. Cast: Nick Cannon, Zoe Saldana, J. Anthony Brown, GQ, Leonard Roberts, Orlando Jones. Halftime is party time for the gifted street drummer who snares the top spot in his university's marching band. However, he initially flounders in his new world, before realizing that it takes more than talent to reach the top. 118 min. DVD 2572

Directed by Cauleen Smith. Cast: Toby Smith, April Barnett, Will Power, Channel Schafer, Salim Akil.
"Drylongso," an African-American expression meaning "getting by with very little," presents the story of a young woman in just that situation. Living in Oakland, California and frustrated with her own life Pica grabs a camera and decides to document the existence of young black men, whom she feels are a breed on the verge of becoming extinct. Through this project, she meets many colorful characters and also suffers the death of her boyfriend. Through it all, Pica learns the importance of her own existence and finds her own place in the world. Presents a powerful tribute to the strength of the African American culture. 81 min. vhs Video/C 999:3678

Directed by Kasi Lemmons. Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan, Vondie Curtis Hall, Branford Marsalis, Lisa Nicole Carson, Jurnee Smollett, Diahann Carroll. Roz Batiste is a beautiful and dedicated mother of three, who is forced to admit that her family is falling apart due to her philandering husband Louis. Her younger daughter, Eve, witnesses one of her father's infidelities. Struggling to make sense of what she has seen, Eve turns to her older sister Cisely, who dismisses her in fear of the truth, and then to her Aunt Mozelle, a known psychic and rumored black widow. Unable to find the understanding she is looking for Eve decides to take matters into her own hands. For the Batiste family, the ties that bind may not be strong enough to keep them together, and what they learn will change their lives forever. Special DVD features: "Dr. Hugo," a short film, an illumination of "Eve's Bayou", written and directed by Kasi Lemmons ; produced by Caldecott Chubb and Cevin Cathell ; filmographies of the director and principal cast ; theatrical trailer. 108 min. DVD X1041

Fulmer, Jacqueline. "Cundieff's Revision of Masculinity in Film, or, a 'Hard' Man Is Not Necessarily Good to Find." In: Authorship and film / edited by David A. Gerstner and Janet Staiger.
New York : Routledge, 2003.
(Main (Gardner) Stacks PN1996 .A94 2003)

Directed by Moon Jones. Cast: Moon Jones, Stefanie Tremblay, Daniel Zirilli, Jalene Mack, Alfred Holmes, Boyce Ellisl; special appearances by Black Menace, Big Slack, J Dogg. It's prison life at its grittiest in this urban tale of three teenage boys who follow in their father's footsteps through the violent system. When a young filmmaker begins a documentary on the boys, she discovers that a dirty cop is behind their wrongful incarceration. Now she must prove their innocence. 81 min. DVD 1390

For Colored Girls (2002?)

Directed by Tyler Perry. Cast: Janet Jackson, Loretta Devine, Michael Ealy, Kimberly Elise, Omari Hardwick, Hill Harper, Thandie Newton, Phylicia Rashad, Anka Noni Rose, Tessa Thompson, Kerry Washington, Whoopi Goldberg.
Adapted by writer/director Tyler Perry from Ntozake Shange's acclaimed choreopoem, this gripping film paints an unforgettable portrait of what it means to be a woman of color in the modern world. Each of the women portray one of the characters represented in the collection of twenty poems, revealing different issues that impact women in general and women of color in particular. Based on the play "For colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf" by Ntozake Shange.134 min. DVD X5304

Director, F. Gary Gray. Cast: Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Tiny "Zeus" Lister, Jr., Regina King, Anna Maria Horsford, Bernie Mac, John Witherspoon. Rap's hottest star leads the nonstop laughs in this hip-hoppin' look at a day in the life of the 'hood. Craig is an alright guy with some crazy friends. Like Smokey who has 24 hours to pay back Deebo, South Central's nastiest thug, or else! Trouble is, neither Craig's mother nor his main squeeze has the bread. As time ticks away, the chance this pair will ever see Saturday is fading fast. DVD 8974

Directed by Christopher Scott Cherot. Cast:Richard T. Jones, Blair Underwood, Andre Royo, Chenda Maxwell.
Inspired by 'The Great Gatsby', this story follows rap mogul Summer G on a journey to regain what he desires most - the love of his life, who is married to someone else. Summer would give up his millions to rekindle a romance with his one true love. 96 min. DVD X3068

Directed by Spike Lee. Cast: Charles S. Dutton, Andre Braugher, Isaiah Washington, Ossie Davis, DeAundre Bonds, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Richard Belzer, Albert Hall. Follows a group of different men traveling from Los Angeles to the Million Man March in Washington, D.C. They board the bus as strangers but emerge three days and thousands of miles later as brothers. 121 min. DVD 530

Directed by Jim Sheridan. Cast: Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson, Terrence Howard, Joy Bryant, Bill Duke, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Omar Benson Miller, Viola Davis. A rap superhero is encased in muscular flesh like armor, his face is an impassive mask, he reaches out to destroy his enemies with his unique talent. Marcus is a gangster who breaks from his youthful life of crime to triumph as a rapper. Marcus's girlfriend helps him pull free the wires holding his jaw shut when he's recovered from being shot in the face. He even has a moment when a razor blade is thrown into his cell and is encouraged to kill himself. Instead, the self-reliant gangster uses it to carve his rhymes into the walls. 116 min. DVD 5676

Directed by Spike Lee. Cast: Theresa Randle, Isaiah Washington, Spike Lee, Jenifer Lewis, Debi Mazar, John Turturro, Madonna, Quentin Tarantino. When an attractive, talented actress discovers that the only job she can get is working as a fantasy telephone operator, she decides to make the most of it. As Girl 6, she soon becomes the most popular girl in town. 108 min. DVD 5251; vhs 999:3013

Directed by Denzel Washington. Cast: Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett, Denzel Whitaker, John Heard, Kimberly Elise.
Melvin B. Tolson is a professor at Wiley College in Texas. Wiley is a small African-American college. In 1935, Tolson inspired students to form the school's first debate team. Tolson turns a group of underdog students into a historically elite debate team which goes on to challenge Harvard in the national championship. Inspired by a true story. Special features: deleted scenes; "The great debaters : an historical perspective;" "That's what my baby likes," music video; "My soul is a witness," music video. 124 min. DVD X6464

Directed by Cheryl Dunye. In this short a lesbian, played by director Dunye, searches for someone to date. Then she meets L, a beautiful woman who leads her in and out of hot water. 8 min. vhs 999:3345

Directed by Spike Lee. Cast: Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Milla Jovovich, Rosario Dawson. With promises of a reduced sentence, Jake Shuttlesworth (Washington) is granted temporary release from state prison in order to persuade the nation's top college basketball recruit, his estranged son Jesus, to play ball for the Governor's alma mater! But just as the son faces intense pressures and irresistible temptations contemplating his big decision, the father is also forced to consider not only what's best for himself but what's best for his son. 136 min. DVD 507

Directed by John Singleton. Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Ice Cube, Omar Epps, Regina King, Michael Rapaport, Kristy Swanson, Tyra Banks, Jason Wiles, Laurence Fishburne. First-term freshmen from different countries, races and social backgrounds are forced to integrate when they all enroll in Columbus University. They all have their own problems, which are strained to the breaking point by prejudice, inexperience and misunderstandings. 127 min. DVD 3678

Directed by Reginald Hudlin. Cast: Bill Bellamy, Natalie Desselle, Bernie Mac.
Dray is a young playboy whose only objective in life seems to be to have sex with as many girls as he can without getting caught by his girlfriend Lisa. Dray's sister Jenny and her friend Katrina plan to show him that the way he lives is wrong and organize a party in Malibu, inviting all of his girlfriends. 100 min. DVD X3348

Directed by Julie Dash. Cast: Lonette McKee, Rosanne Katon, Ned Bellamy, Jack Radar. Story takes place in 1942 and is about Mignon Dupree, a black woman studio executive who appears to be white, and Ester Jeeter, a black woman who is the singing voice for a white Hollywood star. The film follows the struggles of the women as well as the use of motion picture films in Hollywood during wartime. 34 min. DVD X2394; vhs Video/C 999:1365; also on Video/C 3181

Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. Cast: Bernie Casey, Jim Brown, Isaac Hayes, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Janet Dubois, Antonio Fargas. In this ultra-slick, urban action comedy Mr. Slade comes out of retirement along with Jack Spade to try to clean up Mr. Big's neighborhood from crimes, drugs and the over use of gold chains as they take on the local gang boss in his hangout, the Big Brim Bar. 89 min. DVD 484

Directed by Ernest R. Dickerson. Cast: Omar Epps, Jermaine Hopkins, Khalil Kain, Tupac Shakur. Four Harlem friends spend their days hanging out and looking for a way to get the power and respect they call juice, when one of them plans to take it through an armed robbery, and wants the crew to be with him. Features cutting edge-rap and rock music. 95 min. vhs 999:2422

Directed by Brandon David. Cast: Justin Michael Morales, Louis Sapp III, Angelica Lawrence, Josh Mond. Get as close as you can to the real thing in this tale of Hip Hop gone bad. When producer Tommy Gold, trying to make it big in the rap industry, uses his illegal drug fortune to produce a record, he gets caught in the dangerous underground world of cocaine and music. 83 min. DVD 1739

Directed by Spike Lee. Cast: Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Spike Lee, Ossie Davis, Anthony Quinn. An Afro-American architect begins an affair with his working class Italian secretary. Their relationship causes them to be scrutinized by their friends, cast out from their families and shunned by their neighbors in this moving view of inner-city life. 131 min. DVD 580

New York Film Critics Circle Awards - Best Supporting Actor (Samuel L. Jackson)

Killer of Sheep (1977)

Directed, written, produced by Charles Burnett. Cast: Henry Gayle Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles Bracy, Angela Burnett, Eugene Cherry, Jack Drummond. This gripping portrait of Stan, a Black man employed in a Los Angeles slaughterhouse, is internationally regarded as a film classic. Stan's grueling work--gutting and cleaning the sheep carcasses--infects his entire life, including his relationships with his wife, children and friends. The film hauntingly evokes the physical detail and bittersweet emotions of working class life with compassion and honesty. Declared a National Treasure in 1990. Bonus features on DVD 8738: Charles Burnett's acclaimed short films, Several friends (1969), The horse (1973), and When it rains (1995) ; Killer of Sheep commentary track with Charles Burnett and Richard Pena, Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. 79 min. DVD 8738; also DVD 6940; vhs 999:1729

Directed by Joe Brown; story by Joe Brown, improvised by the cast. Cast: Jarell Jackson, Edward D. Smith, Rooney Perry, Shawn Harris, Archie Howard, Zai Wilburn. Just another day in the 'hood. Ride with two homies, Jamal and Peanut, as they cruise through the streets of Compton and come face-to-face with some of the stranges characters you'll ever meet. 84 min. DVD 1659

Directed by MC Ren and Playboy T. Cast: MC Ren, Playboy T, Nitetrain. An electrifying hip-hop thriller featuring MC Ren of N.W.A. Enter into the dark world of the hip-hop music business as up-and-coming executive Playboy T struggles to secure a record deal for his prized artist. He must deal with all the trials and tribulations of shady record companies, unsuspecting executives and street hustlers. 60 min. DVD 3477

Love Jones (1997)

Director, Theodore Witcher. Cast: Larenz Tate, Nia Long, Isaiah Washington, Lisa Nicole Carson, Bill Bellamy, Khalil Kain. She's a beautiful photographer, he's a sweet-talking writer. When they get together in this modern day romance, these two confused love birds discover that you can never underestimate the power of love. 110 min. DVD 932

Directed by Spike Lee. Cast: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman. Screen version of the life of Malcolm X, who through his religious conversion to Islam, found the strength to rise up from a criminal past to become an influential civil rights leader. 201 min. DVD 148; VHS 999:769

Director, Barry Jenkins. Cast: Wyatt Cenac, Tracey Heggins.
Two African American twenty-somethings have a one-night stand. And a night they barely remember becomes a day they will never forget. A tale of sex, race, bicycles and modern urban life. Deals with the challenge of being a minority in a rapidly gentrifying San Francisco. Special features: Director's notes: an in-depth interview with Barry Jenkins at the London Film Festival; trailer. 88 min. DVD X3759

Directed by William Reilly. Cast: John Turturro, Katherine Borowitz, Dennis Farina, Rod Steiger, Peter Boyle. A fearless mobster wins the respect and admiration of a powerful godfather by assassinating the leaders of a rival family. But the prodding of his ambitious wife and the prophecy of a ghetto gypsy, convinces the mobster to murder the godfather and claim his crown. A brilliant study of the criminal mind inspired by Shakespeare's MacBeth. 107 min. vhs 999:1687

Directed by Kevin Hooks. Cast: Michael Jai White, Duane Martin, David Ramsey, Matthew Glave, David Barry Gray. In 1944, a Victory ship exploded at the Port Chicago navy base near San Francisco killing 320 and wounding hundreds more. The victims were mostly untrained African-American sailors, forced to do the dangerous (and segregated) job of loading live munitions. When 50 of the shaken survivors refused to continue the hazardous duty without proper training and equipment, the most explosive military trail in the nation's history began... 90 min. vhs 999:2861

Directed by Charles Burnett. Cast: Everett Silas, Jessie Holmes, Gaye Shannon-Burnett, Ronald E. Bell, Dennis Kemper, Sally Easter.
Pierce Mundy works at his parents' South Central dry cleaners with no prospects for the future and his childhood buddies in prison or dead. With his best friend just getting out of jail and his brother busy planning a wedding to a snooty upper-middle-class black woman, Pierce navigates his conflicting obligations while trying to figure out what he really wants in life. Bonus features: Both versions of My brother's wedding (118 min. director's cut and the 83 min. 1983 version) ; Killer of sheep cast reunion video ; Killer of sheep trailer ; Burnett's new short on Hurricane Katrina, Quiet as kept, 2007, 5 min. 83, 118 min. DVD 8738

Directed by Tanya Hamilton. Cast: Anthony Mackie, Kerry Washington, Jamie Hector, Wendell Pierce, Ron Simons, Tariq Trotter, Jamara Griffin, Amari Cheatom.
In 1976, complex political and emotional forces are set in motion when a young man returns to the race-torn Philadelphia neighborhood where he came of age during the Black Power movement. 90 min. DVD X5216

Directed by Charles Burnett. Cast: Beau Bridges, Carl Lumbly, Bill Cobbs, Lorraine Toussaint, Allison Jones. When a new slave named NightJohn is brought to the plantation, he opens a whole new world for Sarny because he has forbidden talents -- he can read and also he can teach. As she learns to read she learns the power of words and the unconquerable strength of the human spirit. Based on the book by Gary Paulsen. 96 min. DVD X4306

Directed by Patrik-Ian Polk.. Cast: Darryl Stephens, Rodney Chester, Doug Spearman, Christian Vincent, Jensen Atwood.
A theatrical release based on the television series Noah's arc. Noah gets ready to tie the knot, Ricky dates a young college student, Chance and Eddie see if the grass is truly greener, and Alex tries to plan the perfect wedding. 99 min. DVD X2170

Directed by Tim Reid. Cast: Al Freeman Jr., Phylicia Rashad, Leon. Re-creates the world of a black community in the rural South in the years from 1946 to 1962, as hardline segregation gradually fell to the assault of the civil rights movement. It is a memory of the close bonds of family, friends and church that grew up to sustain such communities, in a society where an American version of apartheid was the law. [from Roger Ebert review, Chicago Sun Times, 1/26/1996. Based on Clifton L. Taulbert's autobiography of the same name (Main Stack F349.G54.T38 1989) 99 min. vhs 999:1626

Cripps, Thomas. "Once Upon a Time ... When We Were Colored." (movie reviews) American Historical Review v102, n1 (Feb, 1997):250 (2 pages).

Holden, Stephen. "Once Upon a Time ... When We Were Colored." (movie reviews) New York Times v145 (Fri, Jan 26, 1996):B13(N), C17(L), col 1, 13 col in.

One Eight Seven (187) (1997)

Directed by Kevin Reynolds. Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, John Heard, Kelly Rowan, Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez. Dedicated high school science instructor Trevor Garfield is a man with a passion for learning. Garfield is skilled, smart, committed: the total package as a teacher. But he's also human. And what he confronts in a school turned increasingly into a battlefield may be more than he can bear. Maybe he'll quit teaching ... or caring ... or maybe he'll take justice into his own hands. 119 min. vhs 999:3067

Directed by Mario Van Peebles; script by Melvin Van Peebles. Cast: Kadeem Hardison, Bokeem Woodbine, Joe Don Baker, Courtney B. Vance, Marcus Chong, Tyrin Turner, James Russo, Mefertiti, M. Emmet Walsh. The story of the rise and fall of a 1960s black radical movement that captured the imagination of its time. Memoirs by its founders and others have suggested that the Black Panthers never had the power or numbers they claimed, but they served a historic purpose, creating the image of an armed, militant "self-defense" group that was an alternative to the nonviolent philosophy of Martin Luther King [from Roger Ebert's review, Chicago Sun Times, 5/03/1995. vhs 999:1629

Directed by Spike Lee. Cast: Stew, de'Adre Aziza, Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Chad Goodridge, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Daniel Breaker.
A young man leaves behind his mother and life in a Los Angeles neighborhood and sets out on a journey of self-discovery in Europe during the 1970s in order to find his purpose in life through his music. A theatrical stage production of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical. 135 min. DVD X2781

Directed by Nnegest Likke. Cast: Mo'Nique, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Godfrey, Kendra C. Johnson, Joyful Drake, Jack Noseworthy, Eric Roberts. Jazmin is a sassy, tart, talented, and plus-size woman who lives in a world that insults and rejects her because she's fat - or is the emotional abuse she heaps on herself the real problem? She is a department store employee with fashion designer dreams who has created a designer line for full-figured ladies, but flounders until she wins a Palm Springs vacation. There she meets a handsome Nigerian doctor named Tunde. He cherishes Jazmin's full figure as a mark of beauty. But can Jazmin overcome her self-loathing and accept Tunde's love? 99 min. DVD 6124

Director, Lloyd Richards. Cast: Charles S. Dutton, Alfre Woodard, Carl Gordon, Tommy Hollis, Lou Myers, Courtney B. Vance. In this story of an Afro-American family caught between their heritage and a dream for the future, the Charles family clashes over the fate of a magnificent, carved piano that carries their family's story from their days as slaves. Boy Willie wants to sell the piano to buy a farm--the same fields their family worked as slaves. But his sister, Berniece, refuses to part with it. For her, the piano is their very soul, a legacy of pride and struggle that symbolizes their survival as a family. To resolve the conflict they must first deal with the past. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by August Wilson. 104 min. DVD X6565; vhs 999:2051

Directed by Oz Scott. Cast: Rashaan Nall, Merlin Santana, Faizon Love, Clifton Powell, Sharissa, DeRay Davis, Dex Elliott Sanders, Toni Braxton. Jax is a rising hip hop phenomenon who has it all, but wants more. Leaving his New York life behind, he signs with an infamous L.A. gangsta producer - and ignites a violent bi-coastal turf war that explodes out of the studio and onto the streets. 87 min. DVD 1683

Directed by Ice Cube. Cast: Ice Cube, Bernie Mac, Monica Calhoun, A.J. Johnson, Alex Thomas, Lisaraye, Jamie Foxx, John Amos. For gorgeous and smart Diana there is no choice but to work her way through college. It is difficult to resist the money that the club owner of the Players Club offers her to strip. She avoids the pitfalls of dancing by trusting no one except the respectable and funny DJ. But her naive cousin joins the club and gets into all sorts of trouble. Diana has to figure a way out for both of them before they go down with the building. DVD special feature: 2 music videos from the platinum soundtrack (We be clubbin and My loved one)103 min. DVD 4469

Director, John Singleton. Cast: Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Regina King, Joe Torry. A mismatched pair pushed together on a road trip from South Central Los Angeles to Oakland find themselves reluctantly attracted to each other, when they are confronted once again by the shocking violence they thought they'd left behind. 109 min. DVD 7394

Directed by Lee Daniels. Cast: Mo'nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe, Sherri Shepherd.
In 1987, obese, illiterate, black 16-year-old Claireece 'Precious' Jones lives in Harlem with her dysfunctional family. She has been raped and impregnated twice by her father, Carl. She suffers constant physical, mental and sexual abuse from her unemployed mother, Mary. After getting pregnant for the second time, Precious is suspended from her school. Her principal arranges to have her attend an alternative school where her new teacher, Ms. Rain, helps Precious learn to read and she responds to this glimmer of hope. Precious also meets Mrs. Weiss, a social worker, and discovers the abuse and incest that Precious has had to endure. Her father dies of AIDS and Precious learns that she is now HIV-positive. Based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire. Special features: Audio commentary with director Lee Daniels; "From Push to Precious" featurette; "A Precious ensemble" featurette; "Oprah and Tyler: a project of passion" featurette; a conversation with Author Sapphire and director Lee Daniels; deleted scene: the incest survivor meeting; audition: Gabourey Sidibe; "Reflections on Precious" featurette. 109 min. DVD X2729

Directed by Kenny Leon. Cast: Sean Combs, Sanaa Lathan, Audra McDonald, Phylicia Rashad, Justin Martin, Bill Nunn, David Oyelowo, Ron Cephas Jones, Sean Patrick Thomas, John Stamos.
An African-American family living on the South Side of Chicago comes into a sudden financial windfall, the potential uses of which divides them bitterly. Based on the play: A raisin in the sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Special features: optional audio commentary by Leon; "Dreams worthwhile : the journey of 'A raisin in the sun'" featurette (23 min.). 131 min. DVD X444

Directed by John Singleton. Cast: Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Bruce McGill, Loren Dean, Esther Rolle, Elise Neal, Robert Patrick, Michael Rooker. In this powerful fact based drama, a black town in Florida is burned to the ground in 1923 by a white mob, its people murdered because of a lie. But some escape and survive because of the courage and compassion of two extraordinary people, a heroic World War I veteran and a shopkeeper. Based on true events from the book Like judgement day: the ruin and redemption of a town called Rosewood by Michael D'Orso. 142 min. DVD 7384

Directed by Euzhan Palcy. Cast: Penelope Ann Miller, Kevin Pollak, Michael Beach, Jean Louisa Kelly, Peter Francis James, Patrika Darbo, Chaz Monet, Diana Scarwid, Lela Rochon.
When bright six year old Ruby is chosen to be the first African-American to integrate her local New Orleans elementary school, she is subjected to the true ugliness of racism for the very first time. 90 min. DVD X3462

Directed by Haile Gerima. Cast: Kofi Ghanaba, Oyafunmike Ogunlano, Alexandra Duah, Nick Medley, Mutabaruka, Afemo Omilami, Reginald Carter, Mzuri. Sankofa is an Akan word that means, "We must go back and reclaim our past so we can move forward; so we understand why and how we came to be who we are today." Written, directed and produced by Ethiopian-born filmmaker Haile Gerima, SANKOFA is a powerful film about Maafa-the African holocaust. Done from an African/African-American perspective, this story is a vastly different one from the generally
distorted representations of African people that Hollywood gives us. This revolutionary feature film connects enslaved black people with their African past and culture. It empowers Black people on the screen by showing how African peoples' desire for freedom made them resist, fight back, and conspire against their enslavers, overseers and collective past through the vision on Mona, who visits her ancestral experience on a new world planation as Shola. We share the life she endures as a slave and experiences her growing consciousness and transformation [description from web site]. 1993. 125 min. DVD X4821; vhs 999:1596

Directed by F. Gary Gray. Cast: Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, John C. McGinley, Kimberly Elise, Blair Underwood.
Four poor black women try to get some payback from the social system which has abused them by staging a series of bank robberies. Special features: "Setting it straight: making Set it off" featurette; "Let it go" music video by Ray J; theatrical trailer. 124 min. DVD X2661

Directed by Spike Lee. Cast: Anthony Mackie, Kerry Washington, Ellen Barkin, Monica Bellucci, Jim Brown, Brian Dennehy. Executive John Henry Jack Armstrong gets fired when he informs on his bosses' business dealings. Desperate to make a living, he accepts his lesbian ex-girlfriend's offer for cash to impregnate her and soon he has a line seeking his services. 138 min. DVD 3719

Directed by Spike Lee. Cast: Tracy Camila Johns, Redmon Hicks, John Canada Terrell, Raye Dowell, Joie Lee. Nola and her three boy friends try to cope with the fact that she doesn't want to give up any of them. Video Disc special features: includes material censored from the original theatrical release; audio commentary by director Spike Lee, cinematographer, Ernest Dickerson and sound designer, Barry Brown; outtales; original theatrical trailer; She's Gotta Have It music video; still photographs with audio commentary by Spike Lee's brother and photographer, David Lee; memorabilia; NIKE advertisements featuring Spike Lee and Michael Jordan. Film soundtrack on digital tracks and analog track 1. A running commentary by Spike Lee, Ernest Dickerson, Barry Brown and Monty Ross is on analog track 2 and can be listened to separately while watching the film. 88 min. DVD X4882; VHS 999:3218

Directed by George Tillman, Jr. Cast: Vanessa L. Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Jeffrey D. Sams, Irma P. Hall, Gina Ravera, Brandon Hammond. Sunday dinner at Mother Joe's is a mouth-watering, 40-year tradition. As seen through the eyes of her grandson Ahmad, love and laughs are always on the menu, despite the usual rivalries simmering between his mom Maxine and her sisters Teri and Bird. But when serious bickering starts to tear the family apart, the good times suddenly stop. Now it's up to Ahmad to get everyone back together and teach them the true meaning of soul food. 114 min. DVD 719

Directed by Ivan Dixon. Cast: Lawrence Cook, Jack Aaron, Don Blakely, Paul Butler, Paula Kelly.
Disgusted by tokenism in the C.I.A., the organization's first black officer uses his training in organizing an army made up of gang members to destroy the white power structure in America. Based on the novel by Sam Greenlee. 102 min. DVD 9210

Directed by Sylvain White. Choreographer, Dave Scott.
Cast: Columbus Short, Meagan Good, Ne-Yo, Darrin Henson, Brian White, Laz Alonso, Valarie Pettiford, Harry Lennix.
After the death of his younger brother D.J. a troubled 19-year-old street dancer from Los Angeles is able to bypass juvenile hall by enrolling in the historically black Truth University in Atlanta, Georgia. His efforts to get an education and woo the girl he likes are sidelined when he discovers 'stepping,' a traditional dance performed by African-American fraternities. He soon finds himself in the middle of a fierce rivalry between the top two campus fraternities. Both want and need D.J.'s fierce street-style dance moves to win the highly coveted national step show competition. Special features : Battles. rivals. brothers - the story of Stomp the yard; filmmaker commentary; extended dance sequences : Get Buck and Opening battle; deleted scene : The clean up; gag reel. 116 min. DVD 7633

Noted as the directorial debut of Matty Rich (he was 19 when he made the film), this is the story of a young man desperate to get out of the Brooklyn projects where he, his family and his friends live. He feels trapped there, surrounded by drugs and danger, so he and his friends pull a robbery to obtain the funds to take them out of Brooklyn forever. 83 min. vhs 999:1443

Directed by Forest Whitaker. Cast: Bokeem Woodbine, Kia Joy Goodwin, Michael Biehn.
An ex-con, attempting to go straight, runs across serious problems when his girlfriend is arrested for dealing crack to an undercover police officer. In a desperate attempt to get the charges dropped against her, he strikes a deal with a weapons cop to turn in local gun dealers. The D.A. however is not satisfied, resulting in some serious game playing and double crossing. 102 min. DVD X6693

Directed by Abdul Malik Abbott. Cast: Jay-Z, Damon Dash. A insightful dramatization of the life and times of hip-hop superstar Jay-Z. Tells a story about life in the streets, combining a narrative structure and musical numbers into an autobiographical tale of his life in Brooklyn, from hustler to performer. The title of the video comes from his album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 and also includes numbers by M.O.P, Sauce Money, and Memphis Bleek. This is Jay-Z's first direct-to-video release; it's self-directed, and aims to give a realistic view of his neighborhood without the commercial flash of over-the-top rap displays. Realism pervades within the framework of this music video, or "videomentary," about street life. Songs: It's alright (Memphis Bleek & Jay-Z) -- Love for free (Rell featuring Jay-Z) -- Only a customer (Jay-Z) -- Pimp this love (Christion) -- Murdergram (Murder, Inc.) -- The doe (Diamonds in da rough) -- Crazy (Usual suspects) -- Im my lifetime (remix) (Jay-Z) -- Your love (Christion featuring Jay-Z) -- Thugs r us (DJ Clue featuring Noreaga) -- My nigga hill figga (M.O.P.) -- Celebration (Team Roc starring Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek, Sauce Money & Wais of the Ranjahz) 60 min. DVD 6934

Directed by Spike Lee. Cast: John Leguizamo, Mira Sorvino, Adrien Brody, Jennifer Esposito, Anthony La Paglia, Ben Gazzara. In the summer of 1977 in New York City, a man called the Son of Sam commits numerous murders. As friends in a small Italian neighborhood become obsessed with the idea that the Son of Sam is someone nearby, the madman's plague of terror becomes the catalyst that prompts relationships to fall apart and trust to disintegrate into dread. 142 min. DVD 402

Directed by Kasi Lemmons. Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Cedric the Entertainer, Martin Sheen.
Based on the true story of outspoken ex-convict and iconic radio personality Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene. This powerful biopic details the life and career of the media figure whose voice instilled the black community with hope during the turbulent 1960s. After talking his way onto the Washington, D.C. airwaves in the era of free love Greene, emboldened by the inspirational soul music and rapidly-expanding social consciousness that defined the decade, openly courts controversy as his put-upon producer Dewey Hughes runs interference.
Special features: Deleted scenes; "Who is Petey Greene?" featurette; recreating P-Town. 119 min. DVD 9600

Director, Robert Townsend. Cast: Andre Braugher, Karen Eyo, Charles S. Dutton, Mario Van Peebles, Ardon Bess, Carla Brothers, Kedar Brown, Amanda Brugel, Joel Gordon. A dramatization of the true story of the formation of the first black-controlled union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Asa Philip Randolph, a black journalist establishes a voice for the forgotten workers of the Pullman Rail Company, where all black porters were simply named "George", after George Pullman, the first person to employ emancipated slaves. 95 in. DVD 1850

Directed by D. J. Pooh. Cast: Brian Hooks, David Alan Grier, Faizon Love, N'Bushe Wright. With two strikes against him, Rob Douglas has two choices; either clear his name or go back to jail to face a twenty five year sentence. 82 min. DVD 5700

Directed by Charles Burnett. Cast: Danny Glover, Paul Butler, Mary Alice, Carl Lumbly, Vonetta McGee, Richard Brooks, Sheryl Lee Ralph. A visitor from the Deep South brings superstition into a divided black household in central Los Angeles. More than a domestic drama about the effect of storyteller/trickster Glover, its a story of cultural differences between parents and children, and how there should be no place for those who cause violence and strife. 102 min. DVD 3592; vhs 999:2020

Directed by Forest Whitaker. The story of four African-American women who journey through a modern labyrinth of husbands and lovers, jobs and makeovers. Based on the novel by Terry McMillan (Main Stack PS3563.C3868.W35 1992) 124 min. DVD 7502

Directed by Preston A. Whitmore. Cast: Allen Payne, Eddie Griffin, Joe Morton. Five young marines leap out of a helicopter and into the unknown. They all joined the marines for different reason, but they find themselves in the same place-- bound together in a desperate struggle for survival-- lost in a jungle minefield on a suicide mission. 89 min. 999:1313

The Wash (2001)

Directed by DJ Pooh. Cast: Cast: Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, George Wallace, Angell Conwell, Bruce Bruce.
Dee Loc and Sean are two roommates in desperate need of some cash. With their car repossessed and the rent due, they get jobs at a local car wash. It seems to be the perfect solution - getting paid, chasing the ladies and their "side deals" have never been so lucrative. The two are in enough trouble when their boss, with ties to the underworld, gets kidnapped. Now the roommates have to figure out how to get their boss back. Special features: Production commentary - D.J. Pooh, Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg; bloopers; alternate main title sequence; music video - "Bad intentions" Dr. Dre featuring Knoc-Turn'al; cast & crew interviews; theatrical trailer; interactive menus; scene access. 97 min. DVD 2570

Directed by Melvin Van Peebles. Cast: Godfrey Cambridge, Estelle Parsons, Howard Caine, Mantan Moreland. 1970 Comedy concerning a white suburban bigoted insurance man who wakes up one morning to find he has turned into a black man. Now he is a white bigot in black skin who has to contend with a shocked wife, his kids, angry neighbors, cold shoulders at the office and a back seat on the bus. 97 min. DVD X4013; vhs 999:1170

Written and directed by Cheryl Dunye. Cheryl, a young black woman working in a video store, is making a documentary about an obscure black actress from the 1930's. When she discovers that the actress (known as "the Watermelon Woman") had a white lesbian lover, Cheryl finds a white women lover for herself. 79 min. DVD 3614; vhs 999:1830

Director Keenan Ivory Wayans. Cast: Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Jaime King, Frankie Faison, Lochlyn Munro, John Heard, Busy Philipps, Terry Crews, Brittany Daniel. Marcus and Kevin are brothers who work for the FBI and take on a case to escort socialite sisters Brittany and Tiffany Wilton from JFK Airport to their hotel in the Hamptons. Once there, two higher-ranking agents will take over the girls' protection. The extra security is needed because Brittany and Tiffany have been targeted by a serial kidnapper. With the help of an FBI lab scientist, the very much African-American Kevin and Marcus will be transformed to pass for Brittany and Tiffany. The agents must lure the kidnapper to take the fake girls so the socialites will stay safe. 115 min. DVD 3099